James Potter Chronicles: Year Two
by Mean St
Summary: After narrowly surviving his first year at Hogwarts, James Potter is back for his second year. Secrets will come to the surface, rivalries will boil over, and the adventure will continue. R/R, and enjoy.
1. Walks and Talks

1

James Potter could barely sleep. The summer had crawled by at an agonizingly slow pace after his first year at Hogwarts' school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He rolled over in his bed, staring out the window at the slightly brightening sky beyond the misted glass. It had to be somewhere around four in the morning of the 1st of September. He beat his pillow and tried to lay down again but still found himself unable to sleep.

When had had been able to sleep over the summer, he had been torn between three kinds of dreams. The first kind found him back at Hogwarts with his best friends—loud and obnoxious Sirius Black, thoughtful and studious Remus Lupin, and timid but insightful Peter Pettigrew. The four had dubbed themselves "The Marauders" in their first year, a term that they were fond of as both something of a secret club, as well as a name for themselves to defend Hogwarts and all innocent beings against oppressive forces.

The second kind of dream found James in conversation with the fiery haired Lily Evans, perhaps the most temperamental girl in Hogwarts. Their relationship had gotten off to an auspicious start on the first day of school aboard the Hogwarts Express, where Lily and James had rushed to defend opposing sides of a fight. Their relationship had maintained its turbulent standing throughout the year, but there had been moments where her anger and James' cockiness had subsided enough for them to actually speak to one another. But those moments were short lived, as more often than not James pined for her affection and she pined for him to drop dead.

The third kind of dream was the one that James dreaded. He kept reliving his last few nights at Hogwarts, when a group of Dark Wizards called the Death Eaters had attacked the school, and one of his favourite teachers had been killed in the ensuing battle. James and his friends had been right in the thick of the battle that night, and while countless people had told James that he had quite possibly saved the lives of people in the school by being out that night, he could not help but feel a sense of guilt that his teacher, Professor Artemis Bowen, had been murdered by a wizard named Gilles Rochefort.

It was Rochefort's face that James saw most frequently in his dreams—oddly handsome but for the one terrifying feature, a robotic eye that whizzed and whirred erratically over its surroundings, and seemed to stare right through James. The way the eye glinted in the firelight as Rochefort laughed, taunting James and his friends as he fired hexes and curses at will from his wand. The last sight that James had caught of Professor Bowen over Hagrid's shoulder as he was carried away from the battle, also stuck with James. The image of Bowen singlehandedly holding off several Death Eaters to allow their escape was difficult to shake.

But now, James was returning to the school. It had been a quick departure at the end of the previous year; exams had been cancelled and the school had mourned the loss of a teacher, but life had moved one.

'How does everything just carry on?' James had asked his father the previous day.

Mr. Potter had looked up at him from reading the Daily Prophet and he smiled as best he could. 'It's a kind of magic.'

The old family saying seemed applicable in almost any circumstance, and Mr. Potter never lost a chance to repeat it.

James rolled over in his bed and sighed. It was difficult to believe that in just a few short hours, he would be boarding the Hogwarts Express with his friends. Hopefully he would then be able to put the events of the end of his first year and the long summer that followed behind him.

A low hoot from the corner of his room alerted James to the fact that Seger was watching him reproachfully. The family owl, Seger was a misty grey colour with a brilliant shock of white running down his back. His piercing yellow eyes glared at James reproachfully.

'I'm trying to sleep!' James defended, but Seger did not look convinced. James sighed as he stared at his trunk; it had been packed for three days. All of his robes, cauldrons, class books, his father's invisibility cloak, everything he would need.

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep. He remembered looking at the clock and seeing it read 6:54, but suddenly he was being shaken awake by his father at 7:30. 'Rise and shine,' Mr. Potter said brightly. 'I'm impressed you got any sleep.'

James blinked rapidly, trying to form together a coherent sentence. 'Me too,' he managed.

'Well, we'd best get a move on. I'm sure you'll want to get there a little early to see your friends. Pip pip,' Mr. Potter said and he breezed out of the room, waving his wand idly as he did so which caused James' trunk to float into the air and down the stairs. With a low hoot, Seger drifted off down the stairs after Mr. Potter.

'Your mother had to leave early this morning,' Mr. Potter was saying as he threw his travelling cloak on. He smiled at James. 'I promise, one of these days she will actually be able to see you off on the train.'

James grabbed his own travelling cloak. 'Why did she have to go to work early?' he asked.

Mr. Potter hesitated. James' mother worked for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes at the Ministry of Magic. Her job ranged from the comical-like someone accidentally transfiguring themselves into a newt-to the tragic, such as cleaning up the scenes of murders. It had been more of the latter rather than the former of late.

'There was an attack last night,' Mr. Potter said quietly. 'No one's been killed, mind you. But it looks like it was the Death Eaters.'

'Anyone we know?' James asked.

Mr. Potter nodded. 'No children of theirs in Hogwarts right now, but it was the Hansons.'

James had only heard his father speak of the family; a very old wizarding family, they hadn't had a child in Hogwarts for several years. 'How did they surive?'

'They're a very talented magical family. Then again, so were the Longbottoms,' Mr. Potter sighed as the memory of the murder of James' classmate Frank Longbottom's entire family came back to his mind. 'But they were able to batten the hatches so to speak and hold them off while the Aurors made their way there.'

'So were you out last night?' James asked.

Mr. Potter nodded. 'I was.'

'I didn't even hear you!' James said, impressed.

'What can I say, it's-'

'-a kind of magic, right Dad,' James said with a snort as they headed out the front door.

*

In what seemed like only a short while later, James and Mr. Potter stepped onto the steaming Platform 9 and 3/4. The scarlet steam engine sat, waiting to take students to Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. James barely had a second to register the train when he was suddenly struck by something obscenely large, heavy and hairy.

'JAMES!' came the cry from his best friend Sirius Black, who appeared to have taken a running leap to give him a hug. 'The mirrors just don't do justice, it's great to see you!'

James wheezed, looking at his friend. He seemed to have grown about a foot in height over the summer, and his wavy black hair was longer than ever. 'Great to see you too, Sirius,' he panted. 'But maybe shouting something like 'heads up' would be good next time.'

'Sorry mate,' Sirius said with a grin. 'I've been here all morning waiting for you lot to arrive. Hello, Mr. Potter!'

Mr. Potter nodded with a smile at Sirius. While Sirius had not been able to leave his house to visit the Potters over the summer, the sight of James and Sirius talking to each other on their enchanted mirrors had become all too frequent. 'Is anyone else here yet?' James asked, looking around.

'Peter got here just a little before you did, went to get us a compartment on the train. I haven't seen Remus yet,' Sirius replied.

'Remus...that would be the Lupins' boy, yes?' Mr. Potter asked.

'Yeah, Dad. You saw the letters he sent over the summer,' James said.

Mr. Potter nodded, but an odd look crossed his face for a moment. James was about to ask when the train's whistle sounded. 'Well, you'd best be off,' Mr. Potter said, the look now gone. 'But before you do...' and from his cloak, he drew an antiquated looking camera.

'Oh, come on Dad-'

'Family tradition,' Mr. Potter cut in sternly. 'And I've grown quite fond of having my head firmly attached to my shoulders. I don't want your mother to try giving Nearly-Headless Nick any company at Hogwarts. So smile.'

Sirius wrapped an arm around James' shoulder and they both grinned broadly for Mr. Potter who snapped the picture. 'Off you go, then. Be safe, be careful, and don't get into too much trouble this year.'

'Not after last year,' James replied brightly, but at his father's concerned look, James spoke more seriously. 'Dumbledore is increasing the protection at the school, remember? Even if I go looking for trouble-' his father looked perturbed, '-I don't think I'll find it,' James said as he hopped onto the Hogwarts Express. He saw Remus running onto the platform with his trunk as the train began to move ever so slowly. 'Remus! Oi! Over here!' he called.

Mr. Potter waved his wand and Remus' trunk shot out of his hands and into the baggage crate on the train. 'Thank you!' Remus panted as he took James and Sirius' outstretched hands and they hauled him onto the train.

'Why so late?' James asked.

'Long night,' Remus panted. 'Nearly didn't make it.'

'It was a full moon last night,' Sirius said matter of factly. 'It was certainly noisy around my house. I think there's something to the theory that the moon causes people to go a bit wonky.'

Remus tried to look enthused by Sirius' theory, but James noticed him pale ever so slightly. 'Where's Peter?' Remus asked in an abrupt change of subject.

'He should have got us a compartment by now. Let's go find him,' Sirius suggested.

They made their way along the train exchanging stories from the summer. James was filling them in on what his father had told him that morning when they arrived at the compartment occupied by both Peter Pettigrew and Lily Evans.

'Hi guys!' Peter said brightly. Lily looked up and smiled at Remus, grimaced at Sirius, and scowled at James.

'All right, Evans?' James said brightly.

'Just leaving, actually,' Lily said and she got up and out of the compartment, bumping James none too lightly as she went by.

Sirius looked confused. 'I thought she said you were alright at the end of last year?'

'She said he wasn't a total git,' Remus added helpfully.

James looked after her longingly. 'I think my feelings for Lily are coming back to the surface.'

Sirius snorted. 'I don't think we ever got that cadavre fully into the grave, James.'

'I'm serious,' James said. 'I think this is the year I'll win her heart.'

Sirius flopped down on the seat next to Peter and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at James. 'Alright, fill us in, Romeo. How do you plan to do that?'

'We're second years now,' James said excitedly. 'You know what that means!'

Remus, Sirius and Peter looked at James blankly.

'Quidditch!' James said excitedly. 'We get to attend the Quidditch Tryouts. Once she sees me on the pitch, she'll come around.'

'Because all of your antics and tomfoolery last year certainly impressed her,' Remus said dryly.

'You haven't seen me on a broomstick,' James said, puffing out of his chest.

'I'd imagine you would still posess your wit, sense of humor, face and hair,' Remus replied.

'...Well, yeah,' James said with a frown.

'In short, all the things that Lily Evans despises,' Remus concluded to roars of laughter from Sirius and Peter.

James sat down on his seat. 'Oh shut up,' he muttered.

'Come on, James, we criticise because we care,' Sirius chimed in. 'I'm not trying to be cruel, but Peter would finish tops in Potions before Lily Evans would agree to go steady with you.'

'Oi!' Peter said in a hurt tone.

'What? It's your worst subject,' Sirius said.

'Well there's no need to rub that in my face,' Peter said, flushing.

'No one's rubbing anything! I'm worst at...something,' Sirius said, looking around for assistance.

'Getting detentions?' Remus offered helpfully.

Sirius waved his hand. 'No, I think I'm the best at that. No one got more detentions than me and James last year.'

'I think detentions are supposed to be lower in number, rather than higher,' Remus said with a shake of his head.

'Well where's the fun in that? Speaking of which,' Sirius said with a mischievous smile. 'Anyone else see Snivelly?'

James sat up a little straighter in his seat. He had forgotten about Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy in their year whom he thoroughly despised. It seemed that no matter how much they detested one another, however, that they always ended up caught in the same predicaments together. 'I hadn't seen him. Did you?'

Sirius nodded eagerly. 'Looks like he's wearing an apron,' he said with poorly concealed amusement. 'And he still hasn't managed to find a decent bottle of shampoo.'

'We should pay him a visit,' James said with a grin.

'Read my mind,' said Sirius as he stood up.

Remus sighed. 'Could we wait until we're at the castle, at least, before you start getting into trouble? I don't think we've even cleared London, yet-'

'Come on, Loony,' Sirius said, accentuating the playful nickname he had developed for Remus in the first year. 'Loony Lupin, always buried in his books. Hoping to be a Prefect? Where's the fun in that? Come and live a little dangerously with us!'

'Yeah, come on, Remus,' James chimed in. 'Take a walk on the wild side.'

Remus looked between the two of them and sighed. 'I did hear this one pretty good spell,' he said with a half hearted smile.

'Marauders, reporting for duty,' James said brightly. 'We're all ears, Remus. Let's talk and walk.'


	2. Carriages and Revelations

2 

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus made their way down the hallway of the train. With much coaxing, Remus reluctantly told the others about a terrific jinx wherein the victim's underpants shrunk. They were quickly snapped out of their scheming when the door to a compartment flew open, and Lily Evans stood there with her hands on her hips.

'And where do you think you're going?' she hissed.

'To find Snivelly, of course,' Sirius said brightly. 'Want to come? We're going to shrink his underpants.'

Lily's eyes flashed. 'Can't you just leave well enough alone?' she said, glaring at James. 'I thought maybe you would have grown up just a little bit over the summer!'

'We're plenty grown up,' James retorted. 'We just haven't forgotten who's side old Snivelly took last spring.'

Lily flushed. 'He was just trying to get us out of there safely,' she said angrily.

'Keep telling yourself that. While you do, we're going to go and shrink his underpants,' James said.  
>Lily drew her wand. 'Don't make me hex you, Potter.'<p>

Sirius, Peter and Remus backed off as James made no move to grab his own wand. 'Careful, Evans,' he said with a cunning smile. 'You're perilously close to breaking a rule. Wotcher, now!'

'I think one detention would be worth it, if it was my reward for putting you in your place,' Lily said dangerously.

Heads were sticking out of compartments on all sides now. James felt his pulse quicken. 'I'll leave Snivelly alone forever if you agree to go out with me, Evans,' he said with a grin. 'Not that bad a trade, when you look at it.'

'Funny, but I disagree,' came Severus Snape's voice.

James raised his eyebrows. 'Oh do you? Fancy sticking your greasy nose into other people's business?'

'To speak of Lily's 'business', Potter, is to speak of mine,' Snape said coldly.

'Oh, someone's developed a backbone over the summer. Pity it was absent during our little melee with the Death Eaters last year,' Sirius snapped, spitting at Snape's feet.

'You should be careful not to speak about subjects you know nothing about,' Snape said. 'Lily, are you alright?'

'I'm fine, Sev,' Lily said softly. 'There's no need for a fight.'

'I don't know about that,' James said with a smile. 'I think it would be fun to test out some of the skills from the second years' spell book.'

Snape's eyes narrowed. 'That would be unwise, with prefects about.'

'Prefects?' echoed James.

'Yes, Mr. Potter. Prefects,' came a silky voice from behind him. For a moment, James was eerily reminded of the voice of Gilles Rochefort. When he turned around, however, it was to face a tall, blond Slytherin seventh-year with a badge emblazoned with the letters 'HB' on it for 'Head Boy'. 'You made quite a name for yourself last year, Mr. Potter…what with all of your rule breaking. I certainly hope I don't catch you at it this year.'

'Lucius Malfoy?' Sirius asked in surprise. 'What drunk made you Head Boy?'

Lucius smiled coldly at Sirius. 'Ah, the…'Black Sheep' of the Black family,' he said. 'I've had the pleasure of meeting your brother Regulus. We're hoping he'll join us in Slytherin.'

Sirius snorted. 'You're welcome to him. Useless little git.'

'Temper, temper,' Lucius chided.

'Aren't you the one who got strung up by your underwear from the Astronomy Tower by Arthur Weasley two years ago?' Sirius said confidently.

Laughter filled the hallway, but if Lucius had even heard the comment, he did a superb job of ignoring it. 'Anyway, Mr. Potter—I would sleep with, er, 'one eye' open this year. Until next time.' He swept between James and Sirius and was followed by Snape's usual gaggle of friends—Mulciber, Avery and Dolohov.

'Are you coming?' Snape asked Lily who took one look at Mulciber and shook her head. 'Well where are you going to sit?' he asked impatiently.

'You could sit with us?' Remus offered.

Lily looked between the Marauders and Snape and had the look of someone trying to decide between dung and bogeys for dinner. She gave a funny little jerk and nodded at Remus, who turned and lead the way back to their compartment. Snape had a momentary flash of anger cross his face and he stormed off after Lucius and the others.

'Don't even speak to me,' Lily said as she sat down near the window and crossed her arms so tightly that James wondered how they would ever come undone.

Peter looked around uncomfortably. 'So, er, how was everyone's summer?'

Sirius made a face. 'Pick a different subject, Peter,' he said as he looked down at the ground. James had a feeling he was smarting about Lucius making friends with Regulus.

'How about your brother?' Peter asked brightly, obviously not picking up on Sirius' mood. 'I didn't know he was starting at Hogwarts.'

'Pick…another…subject,' Sirius muttered as he joined Lily in staring out the window, but she was now looking at him.

'You don't get along with your family?' she asked.

Sirius shook his head. 'I don't really like to talk about it.'

'Sometimes it can be helpful,' Lily offered. 'I don't exactly get on with…' she began, but stopped herself, looking at James and flushing slightly.

Sirius looked at her in surprise. 'I appreciate the offer,' he said. 'But that's something I only talk about with James.'

Lily, Peter and Remus looked at James in surprise. James ran a hand through his hair absent mindedly. 'So,' he said airily, 'We're allowed to take part in the Quidditch Trials this year! Any of you play?'

Lily snorted. 'I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you play Quidditch.'

'And what's that supposed to mean?' James said, flopping down on a seat across from her.

'It has been my experience that most Quidditch players have about as much between their ears as they do between their feet and the ground,' Lily said coldly. 'A stereotype which you obviously fit into.'

'What, doesn't 'Sev' like to play Quidditch?' James asked as he ruffled his hair again. He was pleased to see Lily turn slightly pink.

'Even if he does, he's not as pigheaded as you are. He actually pays attention to his studies.'

Now it was James that snorted. 'High talk for someone who barely scored better than me in our classes last year.'

Lily flushed. 'I didn't barely score better than you—how dare you! You don't take your studying seriously at all!'

'I've told you before,' James was grinning again, 'that when you're blessed with superior talents, you don't need to spend all day with your head buried in a book.'

'No, you can spend all day with your head buried in the clouds,' Remus murmured to a roar of laughter from Sirius.

James laughed as well. 'Whose side are you on, Loony?'

'That's not a very nice nickname,' Lily chided.

'Well, he spends all day studying,' Sirius said, as if this made up for it.

'And that makes him Loony?' Lily asked, astounded.

Sirius grinned. 'If you're feeling left out, we could certainly give you a nickname. How about Silly Lily?'

'If you call me that, I'll glue your tongue to the top of your mouth permanently,' Lily scoffed.

Sirius seemed to be mentally weighing the pros and cons of whether to try calling her that again, when Peter changed the subject. 'What class are you looking forward to the most?'

'Transfiguration,' James said readily. 'Distracting Evans should be considered a national past time.'

Lily stuck her tongue out at James. 'Potions,' she declared. 'I'm going to see what new potion I can sucker Potter into taking this year.'

'I'd forgotten about that!' Sirius cackled as the memory came back to James. Professor Slughorn, their Potions professor, had got them all to concoct a Melodus Draught in their first year. Naturally, Lily had been the best, and James had volunteered to try it. Unseen by anyone but Remus, Lily had added a few extra peppermint sprigs that ensured the potion would last for the duration of the day.

'I had too,' James said thoughtfully. 'You know what this means-revenge!'

Lily snorted again. 'I'd like to see you try.'

'Challenge accepted,' James said with a mischievous smile. 'I'll pay you back for that, Evans, just you wait.'

'Anyway,' Remus cut in, 'I'm looking forward to Potions as well. I find it to really be an interesting class.'

'Defence Against the Dark Arts for me,' Sirius declared, and then a sudden silence fell over the room. James knew that everyone was thinking about Professor Bowen at that moment. 'Who do you think they're getting to teach this year?' Sirius added quietly.

Peter shook his head. 'I heard my Mum talking about it. Said Dumbledore was having a really hard time finding someone to take the job-everyone reckons it's jinxed.'

'Well they've got that right,' James muttered. 'Even before what happened last year, no one's lasted for longer than a year. They'd have to get someone really brave.'

'Or really stupid. Pity you're too young to apply,' Lily quipped. James whipped around to see Sirius biting on his fist to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

'Oh go on, then,' James sighed, 'that was pretty good.'

Sirius' cackles could be heard by the whole train.

*

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station, the five of them disembarked onto the platform. The familiar sight of Hagrid towering overtop of the frightened First Years greeted them. 'All righ', there, James?' Hagrid called with a wave.

'Cheers, Hagrid! Are we coming with you?' James called back.

Hagrid shook his head an pointed. 'Secon' years go on the carriages. I'll see you up at the castle!'

They strolled over to the carriages that Hagrid had indicated. There was enough room for three to a carriage. Sirius dragged Remus and Peter to go off in another carriage, leaving James and Lily alone-a predicament that seemed to cause her considerable distress.

'Really, I'd rather just go alone, there's plenty more-' Lily was arguing.

'Oh come off it, Evans,' James rolled his eyes as he opened a door. 'I'm not going to bite.'

But no sooner had they both hopped in when they were joined by a third occupant-a panting, sweaty Severus Snape who was staring daggers at James.

'Sev?' Lily asked, stunned.

'You looked...like you...could use...some company,' Snape panted as he sat down, sweating profusely.

James chuckled to himself and looked over at the train where Lucius and his friends were only just leaving the platform. 'What happened to your friends Sn-Snape?' he corrected himself as he caught a glare from Lily.

'None of your business, Potter,' Snape said softly.

As the carriage started to move, it occurred to James-he had probably gotten off the train just as James and Lily were moving toward the carriage itself, and run to catch up. He hated James with a passion and would likely rather have been caught dead than be in a carriage with him.

So that meant...

'Oh,' James thought to himself. 'Oh, this is going to get complicated.'

'So…why aren't you sitting with your friends?' Lily asked, obviously uncomfortable with re-iterating James' question. 'I mean, you spend as much time as you can with them.'

Snape's mouth worked for a moment. 'I wanted…to spend some time with you,' he said stiffly.

Lily's eyebrows raised coldly and James knew that, just as he did, she knew that was not the reason he had come to sit with them. But at that point, Snape turned his gaze to James and sneered faintly at him. 'I hear you fancy yourself a good Quidditch player, Potter.'

James looked at Lily who was looking furious and merely shrugged. 'I suppose.'

'Maybe I'll see you on the Quidditch Pitch,' Snape said with a smile that promised malice.

James raised an eyebrow. 'Not if I see you first.'

'Oh stop it,' Lily hissed. 'Both of you. I don't know why you can't just act mature and stop with this petty little squabble you've been engaged in. You've had a whole summer to grow up.'

'Yeah, Potter,' Snape sneered.

'Excuse me, but I'm talking to you as well,' Lily said severely and Snape looked hurt. 'It takes two people to dance, and frankly, I'm getting sick of this little back and forth you have going.'

At that point, the carriage lurched to a halt. Lily clambered over Snape and stormed off without another word. James considered this for a moment when Snape suddenly whirled on him. 'You stay away from her,' he hissed. 'Just leave her alone.'

'What's it to you, anyway?' James asked. 'You seem to value your friendship with those wannabe-Death Eaters more than you do hers.'

Snape flushed scarlet. 'You know nothing about me, Potter,' he snarled. 'I thought that maybe, just maybe, you would have gleaned a few things from what happened at the end of last year, but Lily's right—you're just as thick as ever.'

'You're one to call people thick,' James hissed. 'You couldn't even stand up to a group of murderers!'

'We're entering a war, you simple minded git,' Snape retorted. 'If you'd like to be one of the first to die because he wore his emotions on his sleeve like a fool, then be my guest! I certainly wouldn't be sorry to see you go!'

'Alright, James?' came Sirius' voice and James and Snape looked up to see Sirius, Remus and Peter standing outside the carriage. Sirius' wand was hanging idly at his side.

James held out his hand with his palm facing the floor. 'No need for that, Sirius,' he said.

'Breaking a few habits, Potter? Or just afraid of my new friends?' Snape sneered.

James chuckled. 'If you want your friends to fight your battles for you, Snivellus, that's fine by me. I'll see you on the Quidditch Pitch before you know it.'

Snape stalked off, bumping Remus none too lightly as he went. Sirius went to trip him but Remus stopped him. 'That's enough,' he said, nodding over in the direction of another arriving carriage. Lucius was getting out, accompanied by Mulciber and Avery. 'We don't want to give him any reason to give us trouble.'

'Lupin,' Lucius said coldly as he walked by. 'I guess they'll let just anyone into this school. The state of your robes…I hope the homeless man you robbed was able to find something new to wear.'

Remus flushed but again held Sirius back as he snarled.

'See you at dinner,' Lucius said with a smile as he stalked off.

'That—I—he's a—' Sirius was spluttering, beside himself with anger.

'Just leave it,' Remus said quietly, staring at the floor.

'Oi! You!' Peter suddenly roared from their side. Lucius whirled around—no one had thought to try and restrain little Peter, whose wand was drawn. 'Densaugeo!' he yelled and Lucius was blown backwards and off his feet, his teeth suddenly growing rather massively until they were the size of his feet.

'You little—' Mulciber began, slashing his wand. Sirius hauled Peter out of the way and the spell slammed into the carriage that James and Snape had occupied only a moment earlier, splitting the door open. Sirius raised his wand to retaliate when it suddenly flew out of his hand. Mulciber's quickly followed suit, as did everyone else's.

'What-?' James asked, looking around, but they were suddenly looking up at an exceedingly tall, rather thin wizard whose mouth was pressed thinly into an unimpressed look. He had sunken in dark eyes and he gazed at James as if he were surveying something stuck to his shoe.

'It's Potter, yes?' said the man in a slow, calculated voice.

'Yes,' James answered.

'That will be ten points from Gryffindor.'

'What? I didn't even do anything—' James began.

'Ten points for each of you,' the man said, nodding to Sirius, Remus and Peter as well. They all began to protest when he held up a long hand, silencing them at once. 'Unless you would like me to allow your Head Boy to determine the punishment,' he said, indicating a seething Lucius Malfoy who was feeling his large teeth with his hands, 'I would suggest you go and join the dinner which you have already missed a good portion of. Now go.'

James, Peter, Remus and Sirius stalked past Lucius, Mulciber and Avery. Sirius made a face at Lucius as he went by, and Lucius muttered something unintelligible as they continued on their way to the great hall.

'That was brilliant, Peter,' Sirius said once they were out of earshot. 'Absolutely brilliant!'

'You shouldn't have done that,' Remus said softly. 'But thank you.'

'Who do you suppose that was?' Peter asked, looking quite pleased with himself.

James looked back. 'I'd guess it's our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor,' he said. 'And I get the feeling he used to be a Slytherin himself. This might be a long year.'


	3. Detentions and Explorations

3

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter burst into the Great Hall not altogether quietly. A quick look around nearly made James' heart stop-the sorting ceremony had finished, and Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, was standing at the head of the hall, meaning they had just interrupted his start of year speech.

'Good evening,' said Professor Dumbledore with a smile on his face. 'How kind of you to join us. Please take your seats.'

As quickly as they could, the four of them joined their house table and tried to blend in with the wall coverings.

'Now where was I?' Dumbledore mused as a door opened at the back of the hall and the tall wizard who had just deducted forty points from Gryffindor slid silently into his seat. 'Ah yes. The Forbidden Forest is exactly that-Forbidden. All of our new students would do well to remember this, as well as a few of our returning ones,' his eyes twinkled as his gaze fell upon James who flushed slightly.

'I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that the use of magic in the halls is expressly forbidden. And lastly, I see that we are now joined by the newest member of our faculty. Please join me in welcoming Professor Cristobal Mondego, your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck, Professor Mondego.'

The Slytherin table cheered loudly, but there were only smatters from around the rest of the hall. Sirius groaned loudly. 'You're right,' he muttered to James, 'This is going to be a long year.'

'Now, tuck in!' Dumbledore said and the plates before them filled with food. James' mouth was instantly watering, he had forgotten that he was quite hungry. As they began to fill their plates, Remus cast a glance up at the teachers' table.

'You two will need to be on better behavior,' he muttered to Sirius and James. 'I don't think we're going to get a fair shake of things this year.'

Sirius snorted. 'Uptight old codger,' he muttered. 'What's he playing at, taking forty points away?'

'Wonder why he took the job, he doesn't seem like a very happy bloke,' James observed through a mouthful of chicken. He caught Lily's gaze and gave her a toothy grin. A grin which evidently showed more than he intended as Lily looked repulsed.

'Try swallowing before trying to be charming,' Remus observed as he took a small bite of his food.

Sirius took a massive mouthful, following James' lead. 'You know,' he said, inadvertently spitting a piece of chicken back onto his plate. James fought the urge to laugh madly at the look on Lily's face (her eyes were bugging out of her head), 'I'm really not sure how you intend to win her heart, James.'

'What would you know about it?' James retorted.

Sirius snorted. 'Please. I could get just about any girl here to go steady with me.'

'Oh really?' James observed. 'I think you'd better wait for your voice to fully stop breaking, first.'

Sirius flushed slightly. 'They find that endearing.'

'Says who?' James replied with a laugh, which Remus and Peter joined in on.

'Heads up, here comes McGonagall,' Peter whispered quickly. James looked up into the cross face of the stern head of Gryffindor House. Minerva McGonagall may have been petite in stature, but there were few people who could fix someone with such a withering glare.

'Forty points, Potter?' she whispered. 'Term has not even started! I have half a mind to give you detention.'

'Honestly, Professor, we didn't do anything-' James began.

'Keep your tongue,' she quipped. 'Your antics and tomfoolery last year may have earned you some admirers amongst your peers, Mr. Potter, but I can assure you that they will not be so tolerated this year. Professor Mondego will be the least of your concerns should you persist on this path of breaking rules. Do I make myself understood?'

'Yes, Professor McGonagall,' James and Sirius muttered together as one.

McGonagall looked at Remus. 'Mr. Lupin, I certainly hope I can count on you to keep your friends out of trouble this year. You would all do well to follow his lead,' she admonished the others and she stalked off.

'Keep you out of trouble?' Lupin asked, staring blankly after her. 'She might as well have asked me to teach a dragon to tap dance.'

'Oh that's harsh,' Sirius said. 'Teaching a dragon to tap dance would be far, far easier than trying to keep us out of trouble,' he said with a chuckle.

Peter looked crestfallen. 'Sorry, you guys, this is my fault.'

'Don't be stupid,' James replied. 'When we've finished at Hogwarts, what's the better memory going to be-winning a House Cup, or giving Lucius Malfoy teeth the size of dinner plates? Now come on, eat your dessert.'

*

The evening eventually wound down and the all made their way back to their dormitories. Everyone was quite tired, but the excitement of starting classes the next day was keeping them awake.

'Say,' Sirius began, cutting into the middle of a conversation about how unfair they were anticipating Defence Against the Dark Arts to be, 'remember our little...extra-curricular project last year?'

'You mean the map?' Peter asked.

'Yeah. We should get to work on that,' Sirius said.

Remus sighed. 'Please tell me this is something you plan to do within the hours of curfew,' he pleaded.

James smirked. 'Where's the fun in that?'

'Yeah, come on, Loony! We should get started this weekend,' Sirius said excitedly.

Remus flushed. 'I can't this weekend. I won't be here.'

The laughter stopped; Sirius, James and Peter exchanged glances. James had momentarily forgotten about the fact that Remus had periodically disappeared at times the previous year. He had said the reason was that his mother was ill, but they all suspected something different was afoot.

'Your mother's still ill, then?' Peter asked.

Remus nodded. 'Yes. I just try to visit once a month,' he said quietly, looking at the ground.

'Well, then,' Sirius said brightly, 'all the more reason for us to head out tomorrow night! There's three school nights we can use before you have to go.'

Remus sighed. 'You three are going to be the death of me,' he said. 'We should really get some sleep.'

A short while later, the room was quiet. Peter's snores informed James that he was asleep, and Remus hadn't made any noise in some time. James jumped suddenly when Sirius jumped through the curtains of his four poster and sat on his bed. 'Lumos,' Sirius whispered.

'What's going on?' James asked.

'We need to work on that map,' Sirius said excitedly. 'If we can get it to at least show us who's going where by the end of the week, maybe we can see where Remus is really going!'

James nodded. 'Good idea,' he said. 'That'll mean sneaking the parchment out from under his nose. Should we tell Peter?'

'Yeah, I've got a plan for him,' Sirius said. 'We'll get him to distract Remus by getting him to help with his homework. While they're occupied, you and I can go and start tracing the castle grounds onto the map!'

'Brilliant,' James said with a grin. 'You don't think we're overstepping ourselves, do you?' he asked, now concerned.

'Course not,' Sirius replied. 'We're concerned friends.'

James nodded. 'I guess you're right. I wonder what he's hiding that he doesn't think he can tell us,' he mused.

'Maybe he's a vampire?' Sirius sniggered.

James shoved his friend. 'We'd better get to sleep,' he whispered. 'We've got Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing tomorrow morning. First class with Professor Mondego…I've got a bad feeling about this.'

The bad feeling got increasingly worse the next morning when James and Sirius took their seats for class. As had been the case last year, they were against sharing Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins. James noted with irritation that Lily and Snape were sitting together and laughing at some private joke.

'There will be no chattering in my class, and you will speak only when asked to,' Professor Mondego said as he stood up from behind his desk. 'I have reviewed the work that your previous teacher had set out for you, and I am sad to say that you are woefully behind the pace you should be at in your studies.'

Confused looks were traded around the classroom. 'But Professor,' Lily said, 'Professor Bowen taught us about the Unforgiveable Curses, and those aren't normally covered until sixth…' she trailed off at the withering glare Professor Mondego had given her.

'Your name?' he asked.

'Lily Evans,' Lily replied.

'Ms. Evans, do you have a hearing problem, or did you simply choose to willfully ignore me when I said that you will not speak unless you are asked to?' Mondego said coldly. Lily flushed, and James noted—again, with annoyance—that Snape was staring down at his desk, saying nothing.

'She's not wrong,' James said loudly. 'And you might want to speak a bit better of someone who's passed,' he said defiantly.

The air seemed to suck out of the room as several people gasped. 'Mr. Potter, it would seem you have a problem with authority. Not content with costing your House forty points before the start of year meal had even commenced, much less completed, you now seek to add to your deficit. You are an unusual wizard.'

'If standing up for people makes me unusual, then I'll take it,' James said hotly.

He was waiting for the reprimand, but it didn't come. Instead, Mondego turned and walked up to the head of the classroom. 'Mr. Potter is demonstrating something that ought not to become common practice in this classroom, but as it will serve as a useful example for today's class, I will allow it,' he said, enunciating each word with awful tension. 'Fighting the Dark Arts is profoundly difficult. It is like fighting a multi-headed serpent, except where each head is severed, several new ones grow in its place. It is ever changing, like fighting smoke.'

He paused, looking with a grim look of satisfaction at Snape who was madly scribbling down everything that he said.

'Mr. Potter here has demonstrated one of the surest ways to lose—and that is to wear his emotions on his sleeve. Indeed, your own past Professor was guided by his own emotions and it lead to his own death.'

'How can you say that?' Lily scoffed. 'He died defending the students of the school!'

'Ten points from Gryffindor, and it shall be doubled if you speak out of turn again, Ms. Evans. And that goes doubly for you, Potter,' Mondego said with a curl in his lip. 'Professor Bowen rushed emotionally into a battle that he was ill equipped to win, and it cost him his life. Even by taking a moment's hesitation to ensure sufficient reinforcements were with him, he might have been spared.'

'But someone else might have died,' Sirius taunted.

Mondego sighed and cracked his neck. 'The use of magic on students as a form of punishment is—regrettably—forbidden, but I find myself growing tired of these constant interruptions. Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Black—you will all leave the classroom at once. I will discuss the details of your detentions with your Head of House. Now go.'

James, Sirius and Lily quickly gathered their things and left class.

'What a raving lunatic!' Sirius spat once they were out of earshot. 'The way he was talking about Professor Bowen, I mean, is he for real? Or is he just trying to get a rise out of us?'

'He's a coward, like most Slytherins,' James snorted.

Lily looked at him coldly. 'And what's that supposed to mean?'

James rolled his eyes. 'Oh come on, Lily, not everything I say is some veiled insult at your friend 'Sev',' he muttered.

'No, just most of what you say!' she replied hotly.

'I was on your side in there, in case you didn't notice!' James shot back. 'You were the first one to break the rules this time, Evans, not me! So you can't blame me for being in this mess!'

Sirius stepped between them as Lily was getting a dangerous look on her face. 'I think we should all just calm down a bit,' he said smoothly. 'Mondego is planning to take this up with McGonagall, right? Well, she can be fair, so we could just tell her our side of the story.'

'She might be fair, but she's also pretty strict, Sirius,' James said. 'I don't see a way out of detention with Mondego.'

'What do you think he'll make us do? I've never had detention before,' Lily fretted.

Sirius chuckled. 'It's not that bad, and after a while you just get used to it,' he said with a roguish wink. 'This is old hat for James and I.'

Lily sighed. 'I can't believe I'm going to be stuck in detention with Sirius Black and James Potter,' she muttered.

'So what are we going to do for the next hour?' James asked excitedly.

Lily's eyes narrowed. 'What do you mean?' she asked. 'We're supposed to wait here until class is over, aren't we?'

'Of course not!' Sirius said. 'Come on, Silly Lily,' he added, ignoring the venomous stare she shot him, 'this might be the one time of day that we get complete free reign of the castle! Aren't you curious to see what secrets she has to tell us?'

James raised his eyebrows suggestively at Lily. 'Come on, Evans,' he said. 'Gryffindor, where the brave and bold dwell at heart?'

Lily contemplated that for a moment and sighed. 'Alright, what do you two have in mind?' 

They began walking idly through the corridors and James shrugged as they went. 'We mostly just explore in situations like this. Lately we've taken to trying to find out where the kitchens are.'

'The kitchens?' Lily frowned.

'Yeah,' Sirius chimed in. 'You don't think that food we eat all the time just appears out of nowhere, do you?'

'Of course not,' Lily said smartly. 'Food is one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.'

'Gesundheit,' James said helpfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Anyway,' she muttered. 'I always assumed they must have it brought in from somewhere in Hogsmeade?'

'I don't think so,' James said. 'There's far too many students here for one shop in Hogsmeade to feed. I think it's more likely that they have a kitchen somewhere, but it's just out of sight for all the students here.'

'But why would they hide it?' Lily asked.

'So they can stop ne'er do wells such as ourselves from finding it and sneaking food,' Sirius said with a grin. 'I've been craving one of those éclairs we had last night all day, and I want to find them!'

Lily sighed. 'So where were you thinking of starting this search for a supposedly hidden spot in the castle that, for all we know, doesn't actually exist?'

'She's got us there, mate,' Sirius said with a grin.

'Yeah. There's no way we could possibly find a hidden spot in the school on own,' James replied with a mirrored smile of amusement.

Lily looked back and forth between them. 'Is there some inside joke I'm missing?' she asked.

'Sirius, if you please,' James said.

Sirius bowed deeply. 'But of course,' he said. 'Lily, may I just distract you for a moment?' he then guided her off down the corridor. When they were out of sight, James slid a crisp piece of parchment from his pocket. He muttered a quick incantation designed to encode the parchment and then stood there, momentarily pondering what to use as his pass phrase. A smile spread over his lips. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' he muttered, tapping the parchment.

A vague outline of the inside of the castle appeared on the parchment and James grinned. He quickly cast an Illusionment charm and muttered another incantation, hoping to reveal a secret door somewhere on the map.

Not too far from where they were, an item popped up in his own handwriting. It read simply: 'Tickle me.'

James noted the location on the map, not too far from where he stood. He tapped the map again and muttered the phrase. 'Mischief managed,' and the map wiped itself clean. Pleased with himself, he pocketed the parchment and jogged off after Sirius and Lily. 'Let the mayhem begin,' he whispered as he did.


	4. Kitchens and Notices

4

'This way,' James said brightly as he caught up with Sirius and Lily. He stifled a laugh at the scene before him-Sirius was trying to tell Lily a rather obscene joke wherein a wizard, a muggle and a troll entered the bar. Evidently Sirius had arrived at the punch line, as Lily made a face.

'Oh that's disgusting,' she admonished.

'Disgustingly good, more like,' Sirius cackled. 'Well, James?' he asked, noticing that James had now joined them. 'Is today our lucky day?'

James grinned. 'I think so,' he said suggestively. 'Lady luck is pointing me...this way!'

They set off down the corridor. Lily had her arms crossed skeptically, as if she thought this was some sort of elaborate prank. 'What were you doing just now?' she asked suspiciously.

'Me? I was admiring the view,' James said innocently.

'I don't believe that for a second, Potter,' Lily said shrewdly.

Sirius chuckled. 'Don't be silly, Lily,' he said (ignoring yet another menacing glare from Lily), 'we're not playing any pranks or pulling any tricks. Now where to, James?' he asked, stopping.

They had arrived at a dead end. In front of them was a portrait of a bowl of fruit.

'Now what?' Lily asked. 'If we go back a bit, that would take us to the Hufflepuff common room,' she suggested.

'No, this is the place to be,' James murmured, staring at the portrait. He thought back to what his map had shown him...the words 'tickle me'. 'I think,' he proclaimed, 'we have to persuade the fruit to open the door.'

'Come again?' Sirius asked as James stepped forward and started feeling the painting with his fingers.

Lily looked nervously over her shoulder, as if certain that Professor McGonagall would appear at any moment and discover her watching James fondle a painting. 'I think you've lost your mind,' she admonished.

James had just finished feeling the grapes when the elbow of his robes grazed the bright yellow pair, which twitched ever so slightly.

'Did you see that?' James said excitedly.

Sirius and Lily leaned in as James prodded the pear with his finger once more, and the pear let out a giggle. With a loud 'CLUNK', the portrait swung forward and the three of them were greeted by a maelstrom of delicious smells that wafted out of the Hogwarts kitchens.

'Oh my,' Lily whispered as they found themselves staring at a room full of bustling House Elves, very few of whom took any notice to the fact that three people had suddenly opened the door.

'Wicked,' Sirius said, clapping James on the back. He leapt through the portrait hole and made his way immediately over to wear three elves were putting the finishing touches on a large plate of éclairs.

James motioned for Lily to go first and she did, looking quite awestruck. James clambered in after her and the portrait swung shut. 'This is brilliant,' he said with a clap of his hands. 'Didn't I tell you we'd find it?'

'Hello, sir,' said a squeaky House Elf. 'Would sir like to try a glazed slice of roast?'

Sirius, James and Lily sat happily, sampling all sorts of different foods as the elves brought over a steady stream. While Lily and James stuck with meats and vegetables, Sirius seemed to be stuffing his face with every dessert available.

'Didn't realize you had such a sweet tooth, mate,' James observed as Sirius stuffed his eleventh éclair into his mouth in one large bite. 'Be careful with that or you'll choke to death.'

'Given the number of those he's eaten, I'd wager diabetes is a bigger concern,' Lily said as she took a bite off of a succulent apple.

'Wof ith die-bittus?' Sirius warbled through his mouthful of pastry.

Lily flushed. 'Muggle ailment,' she said.

'What's it do?' James asked. 'Are there a lot of Muggle ailments?'

Lily nodded and went into a description of all sorts of different muggle maladies. She also explained how doctors and hospitals worked. Sirius and James sat, rapt with attention as she went on. 'It's amazing,' Sirius said when Lily had finished explaining the concept of surgery, 'what muggles do to work around not being able to use magic. It's quite impressive, really.'

'My Dad is a doctor,' Lily said. 'It is really impressive.'

'I'll say,' James said. 'How do muggles duel without wands?' he asked.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'They don't,' she said coldly. 'Believe it or not, there are other ways of resolving conflict then just by fighting.'

'Do they use their hands? Or sticks and swords?' Sirius asked excitedly.

'I think we've stayed here a bit too long,' Lily said airily as she stood up. 'Next class will be starting in just a few minutes. Now how did you know this place was here?' she asked James, fixing him with a piercing stare.

James raised his arms. 'That's a right terrifying look, that is,' he grinned. 'Add about a hundred years to your face and you could be Professor McGonagall's grouchy sister!'

He had evidently struck a nerve with the sister comment. Lily's mouth worked for a moment and she stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the portrait hanging open behind her. James looked back at Sirius who had missed the exchange, being as he was having yet more éclairs stuffed into a bag for him by the helpful house elves.

'And at this rate, we could add a hundred years and you could be Professor Slughorn's brother,' James said with a laugh.

They left the kitchen shortly thereafter, the house elves waving cheerily goodbye to them and trying to force more food upon them until they were out of the portrait hole and back into the corridor.

'I think Lily must share some of your home issues,' James observed.

'What? You mean she doesn't get on with her family?' Sirius asked. 'She sounded pretty impressed by her Dad.'

'Do you know if she has siblings?' James asked suddenly.

Now Sirius' face darkened. 'I know I wish I didn't,' he muttered. Lost in the bustle of the last few days was the fact that his brother, Regulus, had indeed been sorted into Slytherin House. James, Remus and Peter had been doing everything they could to avoid the subject, as the mere mention of his brother was enough to set Sirius into a temper.

'So anyway,' James said. 'We on for mapping the castle grounds tonight?'

Sirius nodded. 'How did you get the map to tell you about the portrait, anyway?'

'It wasn't too hard,' James said proudly. 'I cast a revealing charm on it. It was a little difficult because we haven't mapped out the school in detail yet, but it told me I needed to tickle whatever was there.'

Sirius looked awestruck. 'That's brilliant,' he whispered. 'I wonder if there's any other secret passage ways that you have to do things to get in!'

'Well, used correctly, this map should be able to tell us all about it. But I haven't gotten to the best part—I came up with a code phrase to open it and another one to lock it. I think you'll enjoy both of them,' James grinned.

When James told him about the two phrases ('I solemnly swear that I am up to no good', and 'mischief managed'), Sirius' face was alight with glee. 'That's wicked!' he proclaimed a little loudly in the empty hall. But suddenly, it was not so empty any more—students were streaming out of classrooms all around them as they arrived back outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts class where Lily was waiting, arms crossed, staring out a window.

'Alright, Evans?' James said brightly, but she made no move to indicate she had heard them. Snape was the first out the door from the class and he glared with a look of intense loathing at James and Sirius.

'Shall we walk to next class?' Snape said in a strained voice to Lily.

'I have to wait for Professor Mondego,' Lily replied quietly.

'I'll wait,' Snape said in that same strained tone. He looked furious.

'Potter, Black, Evans,' came Professor Mondego's voice from the classroom. Remus and Peter lingered in the hall for a moment, but James motioned for them to go and they did so. With a resigned sigh, James entered the classroom with Lily and Sirius in tow. 'Sit,' Mondego said and the three of them sat in desks before him. Mondego scrutinized them closely and then spoke in an awfully slow voice. 'I have heard about you three. Your antics last year have become something akin to required reading for the teachers of this school.'

'That's flattering,' Sirius said.

Mondego fixed Sirius with a cold stare. 'Be silent unless you are asked to speak,' he breathed. 'I see that you three fancy yourselves as some sort of cross between Aurors and mischief makers. I did not accept the post to teach at Hogwarts lightly; I do not intend to have anyone die on my watch as previous professors may have done. Am I making myself clear?'

James swallowed and nodded, Lily and Sirius doing the same.

'You three could stand to learn a little bit about respect,' Mondego continued. 'Not just respect for me, which I know would be bordering on foolishness to expect. But respect for your fellow classmates, respect for the teachers of Hogwarts, and for the rules of this school which are here for your protection. You are children—under aged wizards. And before any of you get any grandiose thoughts in your heads because of the fact that you survived an encounter with the Death Eaters, it would do you well to remember that you were extremely lucky to escape that encounter in one piece. Do not go looking for trouble, because you just might find it—and you won't have someone as foolish as Professor Bowen to come rushing to your aid this time. Am I clear?'

'Yes,' James, Sirius and Lily said at once.

'Now go. Professor McGonagall has been made aware of your conduct in class, and I trust she will deal with you accordingly.'

James, Sirius and Lily made to leave when Mondego held up a hand. 'Just a moment, Potter,' he said. 'You two may leave,' he added severely to Lily and Sirius, who left without another word. 'I understand you are the ring leader of this little group,' he said quietly to James. James made to speak, but Mondego silenced him with another glare. 'Leadership is a fickle thing, Potter. With it comes something that I am sure you know very little about—responsibility. Responsibility for yourself as well as those whom you lead around. So try to remember the next time you take risks with your neck that you are also risking the necks of your little friends.'

James felt struck numb. His mouth worked for a second and he nodded.

'I will also converse with your father at my earliest opportunity,' Mondego added, and the feeling of numbness spread through the rest of James' body. 'It is my understanding that he was not going to be pleased if he heard of any more tomfoolery at the school. He will undoubtedly be…disappointed,' he finished, enunciating the last word with something close to relish. 'Now go.'

*

The rest of the day seemed to pass in a haze. James felt ashamed not just for his antics in class, but for the end of last year. Had he been responsible for Professor Bowen's death? It had been a question he had grappled with all summer, but he tried to remember Dumbledore and Mr. Potter's exclamations that blaming anyone for what had happened would be foolish. But yet, Professor Mondego's words were sticking hard with James.

'You missed quite a row,' Sirius was saying to him as they headed back to the Gryffindor common room at the end of the day.

'I missed what?' James asked dreamily.

'A row,' Sirius said. 'Between Lily and Snivelly.'

James stopped short. 'When?'

'Right after we left Defence Against the Dark Arts,' Sirius said. 'Old Snivelly was waiting outside the class and they argued the whole way to Transifguration. He was pretty furious.'

'About what? Her getting into trouble?' James asked.

Remus, who had been walking behind them, sighed. 'It's fairly obvious—he was upset that she was off with you and Sirius,' he said.

James sighed. His suspicions about Snape's feelings towards Lily seemed to be confirmed. 'That would only make sense if he saw me as some kind of threat,' he said, looking out of the corner of his eye at Remus.

'Whether or not she does,' Remus said smartly, 'he apparently sees you that way.'

James felt somewhat smug at that comment. He almost didn't notice the crowd gathered at the edge of the Gryffindor common room, ogling a piece of parchment that had been attached to the wall.

'What's that all about?' Peter asked curiously.

'Quidditch Trials,' came a voice from beside them. James looked over to see Frank Longbottom buried in his textbooks. 'Alright, James?' Frank asked in a tired voice as he looked up.

Remus' eyes bugged out of his head. 'Frank,' he said in surprise. 'Those are fifth year books!'

Frank nodded. 'I've received a special exception from the school to accelerate my studies.'

'Makes sense, I suppose,' Remus said. 'You're easily the best in our year.'

'McGonagall reckons I'm the best of the fourth years, as well,' Frank said with a dry chuckle. He stretched, cracking his neck loudly. 'She still thinks I should try out for the Quidditch team.'

James frowned. 'Aren't you going to?'

'I don't know,' Frank sighed. 'It seems a little bit of a waste of time. I don't have any designs on being a professional Quidditch player, and I do plenty of other things to keep in shape,' he said.

James sat down opposite Frank and looked at him carefully. 'Can I tell you something, Frank?'

Frank marked his page and looked at him, giving him his full attention.

'What you're doing is amazing,' James said. 'Really. You saved our necks last year with Rochefort, and you're going to do great things once you're out of Hogwarts. You really are. But at the same time…' James trailed off, trying to find the words. 'I don't think you should focus on growing up so much that you forget to be a kid.'

Frank's eyebrows raised. 'Forget to be a kid?' he echoed.

James nodded. 'We only get to be at Hogwarts once. And even if you never play Quidditch again, this might be your one chance to do it and have some fun. It might even be the one time we get to have some fun, given what might be coming our way when we leave school,' he added darkly. 'So come on. I'm going to put my name down for the Quidditch trials, and I think you should too.'

Frank looked for a moment like he might be angry, but then a slow smile broke his face. It was the first smile that James could recall seeing on it in a while. 'You're right, James,' he said. 'Come on.' He took off across the room to go put his name down.

'Wow, James,' Remus breathed. 'That was something else.'

Peter was looking at him in awe too, and Sirius had a bright grin on his face. 'Well done, mate,' he said.

James turned to follow Frank and noticed someone else had just watched the whole exchange as well. Lily Evans was standing a few feet away, her jaw dropped and her eyes wide in amazement. With an extra bounce in his step, James headed over to sign up for the trials.


	5. Trials and Falls

5

The next morning saw an early rise for James. He had set his alarm clock for 5:30AM the night before, knowing that the Quidditch Trials were to begin sharply at dawn, which would follow sometime in the next half hour. He hopped out of bed, excitement already running through his body. He opened his trunk to fetch his gleaming new Comet Two-Sixty, the newest, top of the line broom on the market. His parents had got it for him over the summer, knowing his desire to tryout for the Quidditch team that year.

He quickly dressed in his sporting attire and quietly left the bedroom to enter the common room. He was not altogether surprised to see Frank Longbottom was already awake, tying his shoe laces as he sat by the fire. 'Morning,' said Frank briskly. 'Not a cloud in the sky by the look of it-should be a fine day for flying.'

'I know,' James beamed, looking out the window at the dark blue sky. He could still see the moon and the stars, but the horizon was starting to brighten from the approaching sun. 'I wish I could have tried out last year-I love to fly!'

Frank stood up. 'I think I'll be a bit rusty myself,' he said with a half smile. 'Apart from Madam Hooch's lessons, I hadn't really devoted too much time to it.'

'You'll be fine,' James said with a grin. 'It's like getting out of bed in the morning. Your legs are stiff for a few moments, but before you know it, you're off!'

Frank's eyes found James' broom and went wide. 'Is that a Comet Two-Sixty?' he asked.

'Yeah, you follow brooms?' James replied.

'Even if I didn't, I'd know that one,' Frank said as he took the proffered broom from James and turned it over in his hands. 'Wow, they're supposed to be really expensive!'

James flushed slightly. 'I'm not sure how much it cost...my parents wouldn't tell me.'

Frank smiled faintly. 'You're really fortunate. This is a great broom.'

James swallowed. 'If you like, we could take turns on it-during the tryouts, I mean.'

Frank's smile brightened considerably. 'Really? That would be great! We should get down to the pitch!'

They exited the common room as a pair and chatted excitedly all the way down. James rather thought that he had heard Frank speak more in this brief conversation than he had in all of the previous year. It was good to see him with a spring in his step.

Their conversation seemed to pass the time quickly, as they arrived at the Quidditch Pitch before they knew it. They entered the Gryffindor changing room to find that not everyone had arrived yet. A tall, slender Gryffindor sixth year strode over to them. 'Hello,' she said brightly. 'Dorcas Meadoes, Team Captain. You'll be trying out for the team, then?' she asked.

'Yes,' James and Frank said at once.

'Good, good. So you'll just want to put your names and numbers down on the card on the wall over there. I'll be monitoring the tryouts along the Gryffindor Head of House.'

Frank went over promptly to put his name down. James leaned on his broom. 'What position do you play?' he asked Dorcas.

'Keeper,' she said brightly. 'Since my second year. We won the House Cup that year, but we haven't won again since. Ravenclaw had a great two year run, and then Slytherin took it last year,' she added bitterly.

'Well, we'll aim to change that,' James said brightly.

Dorcas' eyes took in James' broom and went wide. 'Is that-?' she began.

James offered her the broom before she could even ask. She was ogling it madly while he went and filled in his name and number next to Frank's. 'What kind of turnout are we expecting?' Frank asked.

'We usually have pretty strong numbers,' Dorcas said, still fondling the broomstick. 'We do a few easy exercises first to weed out the serious ones from the casual players. That's where the fun begins. Now if the rest of my team could get here...' she muttered, handing James his broom.

'Oi, I'm here already, aren't I?' said another sixth year who was lounging lazily in the corner. He looked half-asleep; short and stocky, he had flaming red hair.

'Yes, yes, Cresswell, always the punctual one. Even if you sleepwalk through trials each year,' Dorcas chided.

Cresswell grinned with his eyes closed. 'Hey, you know I'm money when it counts, Captain,' he said. 'You'd be Longbottom and Potter, yes?' he asked, opening one eye lazily.

'Yes,' Frank and James said together again. 'How did you know?' James asked.

'Not many people around the school who don't know you two,' Cresswell said. 'Quite the set-to you got involved in last year.'

'Is it true you can already cast a Patronus?' Dorcas said eagerly to Frank, who simply nodded. 'Wow,' she said, impressed. 'If you're flying is half as good as your magic, you should make the team easily. Especially if the other returnees are late!' she added, glancing at her watch.

'Oh calm down, Captain, they'll be here,' Cresswell yawned.

'Who else is returning?' James asked.

No sooner had he asked the question when the door to the change room opened. Two identical twins entered, and there wasn't really a word to describe them other than 'cool'. They were both tall and wore their flaming red hair tied back in pony tails. One had an hoop through one ear while the other didn't.

'Gideon and Fabian Prewett,' Dorcas announced with equal tones of pride and annoyance. 'Beaters.'

'Nice morning for it?' said one of the twins idly.

'Which is which?' Frank asked.

'The one with the hoop is Gideon, the one without is Fabian,' Dorcas supplied.

'Honestly, Captain, you'd think you've known us for 6 years? He's Fabian and I'm Gideon,' said the one without the hoop.

Dorcas flushed. 'Sorry,' she muttered.

'Only joking,' said the one without the hoop again. 'I am actually Fabian.'

James chuckled as Dorcas inhaled threateningly. Gideon and Fabian sat down in the corner and began talking animatedly. The next few minutes saw the room fill up quite quickly-indeed, people were forced to stand in the hall to wait to put their names down.

'What position are you hoping to play?' James asked.

'Chaser. You?' Frank replied.

'Same,' James grinned. 'Three spots open, let's hope we both get them.'

'I'm hoping for Seeker, myself,' came a bright voice from beside them. James turned to look at a very pretty Gryffindor second year who was smiling right through James to Frank at his side. 'Alice Dearborn-nice to meet you both!'

She extended her hand and James noticed with amusement that it was for Frank only. He took the proffered hand and smiled. 'Frank Longbottom. This is James Potter,' he said helpfully.

'Ah, James Potter,' Alice said with a shrewd look. 'I hear so much about you.'

'I deny everything,' James said with a laugh and extended his hand. 'Who do you hear it from?'

Alice smiled. 'Never you mind,' she said. 'So you're both trying out for Chasers? Excellent. Looks like we have a good turnout today.'

'You're a big Quidditch player?' Frank asked.

'Love the lovely game,' Alice said excitedly. 'I only wish they'd allowed first years to try out...' and they were off, talking together excitedly. James smiled in spite of himself. He was feeling rather pleased with having gotten Frank to come down here-it looked like he was actually having a good time.

'Alright, everyone,' Dorcas said eventually. 'If you'll follow the Twins, we'll head on out to the pitch and get this underway.'

Gideon and Fabian lead the way down to the pitch. It had been about an hour or so since James had left the common room, so he was stunned to see when they walked out that the stadium was nearly full. 'Are trials usually this well attended?' he asked Dorcas, who was walking next to him.

'Usually. You'll notice the entire teams from each house are here-trying to get a head start on scouting us for when the matches begin. And to throw in a healthy dose of heckling and jeering,' she added with a smirk. 'Alright, everyone! Let's get started with a few laps to limber up. On your brooms and go!'

James didn't need to be told twice. He mounted his broom and kicked off, rocketing up and above everyone as he did so. He did a lazy loop and then rocketed around the stadium at top speed. He relished in the feeling of the wind whipping his hair as he soared over the heads of the spectators below. As he circled around, he got a good look at the other fliers-and a good understanding of why Dorcas was getting them to do this first. Many of the fliers could barely get off the ground, and Dorcas was tapping them on the shoulder and telling them to clear off as she caught up with them.

Frank appeared at James' side with a grin on his face, equally elated to be up in the air. 'Nice take off, James,' he said. 'That thing can really move!'

'Wanna give it a shot?' James said with a grin.

'Would love to! Shall we touch down?'

James grinned even wider. 'Or we could give them a show. Come on-on three!'

Frank's eyes widened for a moment and then he looked determined. When James got to three they each grabbed the front of each other's brooms and released their own with their legs. In perfect synchronization, they swung down underneath their new brooms and flipped up on top, landing perfectly to the 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' of the crowd below.

'Now give her a push, show Dearborn how to fly!' James said.

Frank flushed slightly but did so-and he was off, rocketing ahead of James and the others and whipping around the Quidditch pitch. James heard him laugh with glee as he went.

'Impressive, Potter,' came Dorcas' voice from his side. 'The mid-air change and everything. You fly a lot?'

'Whenever I can,' he replied brightly. 'We're both trying out for Chasers.'

'All three spots are open, and that's a good start,' Dorcas said with a smile. 'So let's get to it!'

She spun away from him and tapped her wand to her throat. 'Sonerus,' she said. 'Alright, everyone back on the ground! Beaters, I want the Quaffles in the air, we're going to give the Chasers a chance to show their stuff. I want to see three aside, nets are open, let's go!'

James, Frank and a burly Gryffindor third year named Ralph took to the air, James back astride his Comet Two-Sixty. Dirk Cresswell lead the other side, with two lanky Gryffindor fourth years. The quaffle shot into the sky and they were off. James launched himself after it and for a split second thought he was going to get to it first, but Cresswell suddenly appeared in front of him, bumping him off course and taking the Quaffle. James watched in amazement as Cresswell weaved easily between Frank and Ralph to deposit the Quaffle through their hoop.

'Rookie mistake, Potter,' Cresswell said as he flew up beside him. 'You've got the speed, but you need to be aware of your surroundings. If you'd spared a look down, you'd have seen me coming. Let's do it again!'

Appreciative of the feedback but a little embarrassed all the same, the quaffle launched into the air again. James rocketed towards it once more and did as Cresswell had suggested, taking a quick look around. He saw Cresswell coming in from the side this time, lining him up for a bodycheck. James rotated on his broom, flipping to the underside as he watched Cresswell shoot over top of his face-a surprised look on his own, and James reached the Quaffle. He scooted around one of the lanky Gryffindors and found himself beside the opposite hoop, with Frank streaking through the middle.

'Frank!' James bellowed and he hurled the Quaffle, catching Frank in flight and he deposited the quaffle into the hoop to even the score.

'Nice pass,' Frank said appreciatively and they were off again.

James and Frank continued to exhibit great chemistry as they went along. Periodically, Cresswell would intercept them. He clearly had some veteran savvy to his game, but he was all too happy to cheerfully share it to help improve their chances. It quickly became apparently that James and Frank were the best of the bunch on the field at the time, but then a whistle sounded.

'Alright! Next group up!' Dorcas called.

James and Frank touched down, high fiving each other with glee. They had outscored Cresswell and his team ninety to thirty.

'Nice flying, guys,' Cresswell said appreciatively and he sat down to watch the next group of Chaser hopefuls. James observed Dorcas telling Ralph and the two lanky Gryffindors 'thanks for coming out'.

'Looks like we're through to the next round,' James said brightly.

Frank nodded. 'Don't look now, James, but I think your favorite Gryffindor is here.' He pointed to the audience.

James looked, expecting to see Sirius (which he did-along with Remus and Peter, just a few feet away), but Frank was pointing at Lily Evans who was watching the goings on intently.

'You should say hi,' Frank suggested.

'I'll say it with my play,' James winked.

The Chaser tryouts wore down and they all sat in a group on the side. The seeker tryouts were next, and they watched a pitched battle unfold-Alice Dearborn was clearly an excellent flier, but she was also in tough against a Gryffindor sixth year named Mary. Finally, the tryout came to an end. In James' opinion, Alice had edged Mary, but they both were still on the pitch as the final stages of the trials began.

'Alright, we're going to play a short game. I'll divide you into two teams, let's see what you all can do,' Dorcas said. She divvied the teams up.

James, Frank and Dirk formed a line of Chasers on one side. Two burly but slow fifth years were their Beaters, Alice was their Seeker and Madam Hooch was substituting in goal as the Keeper.

The other team featured three Chasers whom James had never seen before, the Prewetts as Beaters, Mary as Seeker and Dorcas as the Keeper.

The game began and it was fast and furious. James had never played anything resembling this quickly, but he kept up well. He and Frank continued to show off their chemistry, easily walking through the Chasers on the other team. They ran into a little bit of trouble with the equal parts graceful and brutal Beater combo of the Prewetts. James narrowly avoided being hit with a bludger as he passed the Quaffle to Frank, who darted in on Dorcas and scored a goal.

The game was close-the score was only fifty to forty for James' side when it happened.

He and Frank were rushing again, with Dirk bringing up the rear. James rocketed past Alice, who was slowly circling the stadium and trying to keep an eye out for the Snitch. James weaved past Gideon who had swung his bat hard, but missed James by an inch. He raised his arm to throw the Quaffle to Frank again when Fabian smacked a bludger straight at him.

Showing incredible reflexes, James hugged down to his broom, allowing the bludger to sail over his head just as he whipped the quaffle to Frank, who scored again. James turned, cheering, when he saw it-the bludger that Fabian had hit had kept going, and James turned just in time to see it connect with Alice and knock her clear off her broom. She started to fall in what looked like slow motion.

James immediately nose-dived and launched after her. He became aware of someone else rocketing up on his side-it was Frank.

'Frank, kip up!' James roared, holding his hand back for Frank. Frank nodded at once, grabbed James' hand and they both pulled. The resulting effect was that Frank was sling-shotted forward at great speed. He caught Alice by the arm and pulled up just a few feet from the ground. James did the same, and as he did, something gold flashed out at his side. Acting instinctively, he flashed his arm out and caught the gold thing in his hand-the snitch.

'That's game!' called Dorcas to the applause from the crowd below. James pocketed the snitch and headed towards the ground where he could see Frank and Alice touching down gingerly. Madam Hooch was already on the scene.

'That hurt,' Alice said in an alarming slur.

'Is she alright?' Frank asked urgently.

Madam Hooch surveyed her. 'She might have cracked her skull,' she said. 'We should get her to the hospital wing regardless.'

'I'll take her,' Frank volunteered.

'S'nice of you,' Alice slurred appreciatively, slumping onto him and leaning her head on his shoulder as he escorted her off the pitch.

'Alright, everyone, Madam Pomfrey will have her right as rain in no time,' Dorcas was saying. 'Professor McGonagall and I will be discussing the roster and we should announce the team by the end of supper tonight. I wanted to say you all did a great job, and thanks for coming out-I think this could be our year!'

James was about to walk back to the dressing room when he thought better of it. He kicked off the ground and flew to the audience where Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting.

'That was wicked!' Sirius was exclaiming as James dropped down onto the seats next to them. 'You and Frank, catching that girl, the snitch, everything-' he seemed at a loss for words.

'Nice reflexes,' Remus said in an impressed voice. 'Seriously, I'm not sure how many people could have caught that snitch on such a short notice.'

'Nice flying,' came Lily Evans' voice. James' head whipped around so fast that he cricked his neck.

James smiled. 'It was nothing,' he said ruffling his hair. 'Anyone could have caught the snitch.'

'I didn't mean the snitch,' Lily said. 'I meant saving Alice Dearborn. That was a really impressive bit of flying that you and Frank did.'

'And who knew Frank could fly like that?' Sirius asked. 'I've never even seen him touch a broom!'

'Think you'll come down to watch some more Quidditch?' James asked Lily, ignoring his friends' remarks.

Lily nodded. 'Sev's attending the Slytherin tryouts tomorrow. I think he's got a good chance of making it.'

Sirius had a look as if someone had dropped a Dungbomb under his nose. 'Snivelly's trying out?'

'Well, I don't think he's got a very good shot at the Cup this year,' James said brightly. 'Not with us on the pitch.'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Leave it to you to focus on the game rather than the near accident that occurred,' she sighed. 'I'm going up to the hospital wing to see Alice.'

'You two are friends?' James asked.

'Yes,' Lily replied.

A sudden thought hit James. 'You talk about me,' he said happily.

Sirius, Remus and Peter looked at him in confusion. Lily's mouth had dropped and her cheeks flushed slightly. 'What did you say?' she asked.

'I said you talk about me. Alice said she'd heard a lot about me from someone, and wouldn't say who-I'm guessing that someone is you!'

Lily flushed even harder. 'I-well-if-even if I do talk about you, it's only to say what an arrogant little berk you are,' she said and she stormed off away from them.

Sirius chuckled. 'Again with your smooth talk, James.'

James felt like he was walking on clouds. 'She can say whatever she wants to my face, but at the end of the day, she can't deny that I'm in her head!'


	6. Hospitals and Sprints

6

The rest of the afternoon seemed to pass by painfully slowly. Frank did not return from the hospital wing for several hours, but when he did, his mood was upbeat. 'Alice will be fine,' he declared as he entered the packed Gryffindor common room. 'Madam Pomfrey mended her bones in an instant, but wants to keep her overnight just to be sure there's no damage to her brain, like a concussion or anything.'

Frank looked around for a seat, but noticed there was none left. Peter scooted aside on an ottoman to make room for him to sit down as well. 'Everyone's still waiting for the roster to be pinned up?' he asked.

James nodded. Sirius chuckled. 'You guys shouldn't be nervous,' he declared. 'I'd say you were even better than the veterans they had out there. Everyone was seriously impressed by you.'

'Quite the double act,' Remus chimed in while he was reviewing his homework for the day.

'Oh come on, Loony,' James said brightly. 'We've got loads of time to revise for homework later. Get your face out of that book!'

Remus sighed. 'Just because you can drift through classes with high marks, doesn't mean that all of us are similarly gifted,' he said. 'Besides, I'm completing homework for Monday and Tuesday, as well. I might not be back from home in time for that.'

James and Sirius traded looks. They had not forgotten that Remus would be leaving them again this weekend. They had been out for the last few evenings, enchanting their map whenever they could find time. They had already completed the trickiest and-in James' mind-most vital part: getting the map to identify everyone on the school grounds and where they were. This would stop them from being followed by the likes of Snape, James had deduced, to much praise from Sirius.

'You'll be wanting us to take notes for you in those classes, then?' Sirius asked politely to Remus, who nodded absently but didn't look up from his work.

Peter looked anxiously at the common room door. 'It's well past supper,' he said. 'Shouldn't the team have been announced by now?'

'What are you so nervous about?' Sirius asked.

Peter blushed. 'I'm worried I might have hurt your chances by hexing Malfoy,' he muttered.

Sirius laughed. 'I'll bet anything the teachers all had a good laugh at that, same as us,' he said.

But at that moment, the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room opened. Dorcas Meadowes stood there, as did Professor McGonagall, their head of house. 'Is James Potter here?' she asked in a voice that seemed to echo through the room, which had suddenly gone silent. All the heads in the room turned to look at James who fought the urge to squirm in his seat.

'Alright, Professor?' he replied in what he hoped was a charming and confident voice.

McGonagall beckoned for him to come over to her. 'You too, Mr. Black. And you, Mr. Longbottom,' she said.

Exchanging looks of apprehension, James, Sirius and Frank went out into the hall. The portrait hole closed behind them, shutting out the inquisitive faces of the other Gryffindors. James looked at Dorcas for some sign of reassurance, but her face was impassive.

'Firstly, I regret that I had yet to have the chance to address your behavior in Professor Mondego's class,' she said in a curt tone. 'He seemed to be under the impression that you would not be silent while he was attempting to teach.'

James went to speak, but McGonagall held up a hand. 'However,' she said, 'It has been explained to me by your classmate, Ms. Evans, what exactly the nature of your interruptions were.' At this, her expression softened. 'Now listen to me. I am fully aware that you all feel responsible for what happened to Professor Bowen. We all do. And I am granting you some latitude in this instance as it is obviously an emotional subject. However, in the future-no matter what Professor Mondego might say in class-I would encourage you to keep your mouths shut. Am I making myself clear?'

Sirius and James nodded.

'With that said, there will be no detentions for you in this instance,' she said.

'How did you convince Mondego to allow that?' Sirius blurted.

McGonagall looked at him in surprise. 'He is not an unreasonable man, Mr. Black. Although I dare say, Mr. Potter's actions on the Quidditch pitch this morning, along with those of Mr. Longbottom, went a long way to making up for any misdeeds.'

She smiled warmly at James and Frank. 'Ms. Dearborn has asked to see you both at the earliest opportunity. I told her I would send you up with the Quidditch roster. Ms. Meadowes?'

Dorcas pulled two sheets of parchment from her robes and handed one to James who clutched it excitedly. He, Frank and Sirius scanned the list-James and Frank's names were both on there as Chasers. They quickly clapped each other on the shoulder and Sirius gave a whoop of glee.

'Look! Alice made it too!' Frank said excitedly. 'As seeker!'

James looked at Dorcas and McGonagall. Dorcas was smiling widely, and McGonagall was wearing a small smile that, to James, was tantamount to her getting up and dancing on a table given how infrequently she portrayed any kind of happiness. 'You should go off and tell her,' Dorcas said happily. 'Congratulations you two.'

James and Frank started to bolt down the hallway, and Sirius made to follow.

'Where are you going, Mr. Black?' McGonagall said, her voice resuming its normal sharp tone.

'With James?' Sirius asked hopefully.

'Ms. Dearborn has only requested the two of them,' McGonagall said. 'You can wait in your common room until they return. Come, now,' she said and they opened the portrait hole. Sirius turned and gave James a look of despair.

James tried to choose his words carefully. 'Check my trunk for something to do until I get back,' he said, winking at Sirius. Sirius' face broke into a grin, he nodded, and he entered the common room.

Frank and James resumed their quick paced walk up the corridor. 'Chasers!' Frank was beaming. 'This is excellent! I thought I was too rusty to make it!'

'I told you not to worry,' James said, equally excited. They made their way to the hospital wing and arrived outside the door. 'Here, give that to me,' James said. 'Follow my lead.' He adopted a somber expression and entered. Frank did his best to adopt a similar expression, but seemed too giddy to really follow suit.

Alice was in a bed by the window, sitting upright and alert. James' heart fluttered as he realized Lily Evans was sitting in a chair next to the bed. 'Hello,' Alice said apprehensively, taking in James and Frank's facial expressions. 'Did...did they announce the team?'

'Yeah, yeah they did,' James said slowly. He unrolled the piece of parchment in his hand. 'Sorry, Alice,' he said quietly as he handed it to her.

She looked crestfallen for a moment, but then did a double take as she stared at the list. She looked up at James who was now grinning.

'Sorry, but you're going to be stuck with us as teammates for the year,' he finished.

'You sorry little-' Alice cried but she was grinning from ear to ear. 'You had me going for a moment, you little troll!'

Frank barked with laughter. 'It was his idea, sorry,' he said with amusement. 'How are you feeling?'

Alice waved a hand airily. 'I feel fine. I think Madam Pomfrey's taking the mickey, though-won't let me out of her sight, looks at me like I'm about to sprout antlers or something.'

'That was quite the hit you took,' James observed. 'I heard that thing fly by my head. Prewett gave it a really good whack.'

Alice shook her head. 'All I knew was one moment I was looking for the snitch, the next thing I remembered was Frank walking me up to the hospital wing. Lily filled me in on the rest.' She looked at them both with a warm smile. 'I heard you made quite the team in catching me.'

Frank opened his mouth, but James cut him off. 'It was all Frank,' he said smoothly. Frank looked at him inquisitively. 'Some brilliant flying. He made this great slingshot move, it was pretty fantastic.'

Alice looked impressively at Frank who flushed red. James caught Lily's eye and she was looking at him with that now familiar stare of equal parts amusement and suspicion. Frank and Alice were now talking animatedly about the rest of the trials.

'Fancy a short stroll, Evans?' James asked.

Lily looked at Frank and Alice and nodded. She stood up and they walked out into the hallway, passing the windows where the sky was turning pink with approaching dusk. 'I don't understand you, Potter,' Lily said.

'What's not to understand? I'm really quite simple,' James replied.

'I'm not arguing that,' Lily joked, and James was pleased to see she was smiling genuinely. 'I mean I don't understand what you do sometimes. You're quick to brag and boast most of the time, but then you go ahead and do genuinely nice things...like letting Frank take credit for your move in the air.'

James looked at her with raised eyebrows. 'How do you know it was my move?'

'I heard you yell 'kip up', and I can put two and two together,' she said shrewdly.

James shrugged. 'I think it's pretty obvious that the two of them are sweet on each other. She beelined for him the moment we got into the dressing rooms this morning.'

'And you even got Frank to go try out. That was impressive,' Lily added.

'So what you're saying, is that I'm not a complete git?' James said with a chuckle. 'Same thing you said on the platform at the end of last year?'

Lily smiled back. 'No, you're still not a complete git,' she said.

'But I am!' came a voice from behind her, and Lily jumped into the air. Sirius stepped out from behind a suit of armor, roaring with laughter as Lily glared at him. James saw the silvery shine of his father's invisibility cloak disappear into Sirius' robes.

'How did you get here?' Lily asked.

'I'm like a cat. I'm sneaky like that,' Sirius said with a wink.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'You're more like a dog, or at least you act like one,' she said, but she was smiling again.

Sirius looked between the two of them. 'Didn't mean to interrupt a nice romantic stroll...?'

Lily flushed. 'It's not-I don't-shut up,' she muttered.

Sirius laughed again and James shushed him. 'So why are we out and about in the halls? I thought we were visiting Alice?' Sirius asked in a quieter tone.

'We're, er...giving them some alone time,' James said.

'Oh,' Sirius said. Then his eyes widened. 'Oooooooooh,' he crooned. 'Say no more. They're sweet on each other then?'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Boys,' she muttered.

'Oh come on, Evans,' James said brightly. 'Your Alice's friends, and apparently you discuss-what was it you said? Boys,' he said, raising his eyebrows mischievously. 'I'm sure I'm not the only name that comes up.'

Lily sighed. 'Back to being a git, I see,' she said, but her tone was playful. 'Yes, she talks about Frank a lot. She was looking for a way to get him to notice her for some time, and it looks like that finally happened-which, I guess, is thanks to you,' she said to James.

'Well, I aim to please,' James said. 'Really, I'm not all that bad.'

'He's kind of like a canker sore,' Sirius supplied helpfully. 'If you chew your food right, you don't really notice him.'

Lily laughed a bit more loudly than she had intended to. 'Thanks, Sirius,' James said with a chuckle. 'Always building me up.'

'I do what I can,' Sirius said brightly. 'So where should we go? The castle is our oyster!'

Lily looked at her watch. 'I don't think we should go anywhere but back to the hospital wing. It's almost curfew, and we don't have permission to be anywhere else.'

'Oh come on, where's the fun in that? You enjoyed the kitchens, didn't you?' Sirius asked earnestly.

'Admit it,' James said. 'Hanging out with us doesn't completely suck.'

Lily laughed. 'No,' she said. 'No it doesn't.'

A sudden movement at the end of the hall caught James' eye. He held up a hand, for a moment thinking that Mrs. Norris, Filch the caretaker's cat, was approaching them. But a figured stepped into the light and James' stomach flipped-it was Severus Snape, looking livid.

'Sev?' Lily asked. 'What are you doing here?'

'I might ask you the same thing,' he said in a biting tone. 'You told me you were visiting Alice in the hospital wing.'

'And I was,' said Lily.

'So what are you doing out with these miscreants?' Snape asked hotly.

'Oi, nice to see you too, Snivelly,' Sirius snapped.

Snape turned to face Sirius and their wands were both in their hands quite suddenly. 'Stop it!' Lily said, stepping between them. 'You'll all get in trouble.'

'Any time, Snivelly. I'd be happy to help make your nose a little smaller,' Sirius taunted. Snape tried to shoot a curse around Lily but he missed.

'James, help!' Lily hissed.

James stepped over to push Sirius back. 'Not now, mate, not now,' he said. He turned to see Lily struggling to push Snape back.

'Put that thing away!' Lily was hissing. 'If a teacher sees-'

'You said you were going to the hospital wing!' Snape said hotly. 'And I find you out-gallivanting around with-with-THEM-' he was snarling.

Lily put her hands on her hips. 'What's it matter to you who I go 'gallivanting' around with?' she said dangerously.

'You're just impressed because he has a little talent on the Quidditch Pitch!' Snape said hotly.

'A little?' James asked in mock indignance.

'Potter, not NOW!' Lily snarled.

'You said you were going to the hospital wing,' Snape was hissing again. 'You lied to me.' And with that, he spun on his heel and stormed off down the hallway.

Sirius made to open his mouth but James stood on his toe. 'Evans...you alright?' he asked.

Lily did not turn to face them, but she shook her head almost imperceptibly. 'Just leave me alone,' she muttered.

James and Sirius traded looks of concern. 'Evans, come on. Curfew's about to fall. You can't be out here by yourself.'

They guided her back to the hospital wing and walked her inside. Alice was now sitting along, and she was startled at the sight of them. 'What are you three doing here?' she asked. 'McGonagall already came to collect Frank...we told them you'd gone back to the common room!'

Lily slapped a hand to her face. 'Damn,' she muttered. 'We'll be in such trouble.'

'No you won't,' James said confidently. 'How long ago did McGonagall leave?'

'Just a few minutes ago,' Alice said.

'Nice seeing you,' James said brightly. 'Come on!' he said, tugging Sirius and Lily to the door. They peered around the hallway and James felt in his pocket for his map. 'Sirius, distraction please.'

Sirius nodded. 'Right this way, Lily,' he said.

'Oh not this again...' she moaned but did not object as Sirius steered her down the hall.

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' James murmured as they vanished out of sight. The map suddenly populated in his hand. He saw the ink dots representing McGonagall and Frank headed down the hallway downstairs. He quickly scanned the map for an alternate route and found one-if they ran to the Great Hall and then came back up at the Gryffindor Tower, they might beat them there.

He pocketed the map without locking it and tore down the hall. 'This way,' he said. Sirius and Lily fell into step behind him.

'Why are we running?' Lily hissed.

'We have to beat McGonagall to the tower!' James replied.

'But the fastest way is to go downstairs!' Lily shot back.

James shook his head. 'No joy. That's the way she took.'

'And you know that how?' Lily asked.

'Educated guess,' James shot back as they began to jump down the stairs two at a time. 'Watch the trick step!' he whispered as he leapt over the sinking staircase that so frequently claimed Peter. Lily and Sirius did the same and they burst into the Great Hall at a run.

'I can't believe we haven't seen anyone yet!' Lily was saying. 'What luck!'

Sirius smirked. 'Yeah, luck,' he said with a wink and looking knowingly at James' pocket. 'Where to now?'

'Up the stairs. Best to take them at a sprint-don't look back!' James hissed and they ran as fast as they could. James lamented his heavy robes as he nearly tripped over them several times. They scaled the various moving staircases to Gryffindor tower and finally came up to the portrait hole-McGonagall was nowhere in sight.

'Back from your visit?' said the Fat Lady.

'James!' Sirius hissed, pointing down the hall. The light of a lamp was appearing down the way.

James hissed the password, the portrait hole swung open, and the three of them dove in, panting and sweating as the portrait swung shut behind them.

Remus and Peter were the only ones in the common room. They looked quite surprised. 'What are you three doing?' he asked.

'Long story,' James panted. 'Pass me a handkerchief or something!'

Peter obliged and James quickly wiped the sweat off his face. He offered the kerchief to Lily who turned up her nose. 'You've got to be joking,' she muttered.

'If you'd like to explain to McGonagall why you're all sweaty...' James teased.

She closed her eyes and grabbed the kerchief. She dabbed it all over her face with a look of fierce loathing and disgust before handing it to Sirius who did the same. The portrait hole opened behind them-they all dove into various chairs as McGonagall and Frank came into view.

'Still up?' McGonagall asked.

'Just studying,' Remus said smoothly.

McGonagall looked at him with a suspicious gaze. 'And why is your book the only one open, Mr. Lupin?' she asked.

'When you're born with superior talent like Potter, here, you don't need to study. Isn't that right?' Lily said with a small smile.

James grinned. 'I've got all the answers locked safely in here,' he said to McGonagall, tapping his head.

She smiled in spite of herself. 'That's good to hear. We'll be having a quiz first thing tomorrow morning. Good night, and get some sleep,' she said and she swept out of the room.

James, Lily and Sirius began panting again-they had held it in for the whole time that McGonagall was there. 'Why do I get the feeling that I missed something interesting?' Frank mused.


	7. Trees and Wolves

7

James woke at some point during the night and was completely unaware of his surroundings and what was going on. He went to sit upright in his bed but his head connected with something hard and hairy. He laid back down, grimacing in pain—it felt as if his head had split open.

'What the HELL,' came Sirius' whispered voice. 'Was THAT?'

'Sorry,' James hissed through his agony. 'But I could ask what the HELL you are doing on my bed!'

'Sorry,' Sirius repeated. 'I thought we were supposed to plot the map tonight?' he added in a hush.

James blinked several times, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He could now make out the shape of Sirius' head just a few feet away. 'Lumos,' he muttered after grabbing his wand, casting light over Sirius and himself within the confines of his four poster. 'Try prodding my leg or something next time, mate. I think I might have brain damage.'

'You wouldn't be the only one,' Sirius groused as he rubbed his forehead. 'So are we going out or not?'

James hesitated. 'I think we've done all we can to prepare for tomorrow night,' he said slowly. 'Unless you've thought of a way to get the Whomping Willow to stop…well, whomping?'

Their plan was simple. Remus was set to depart the school again the following evening, and an experience in their first year had taught them that he—somehow—entered the Whomping Willow via the base of the tree. James had managed to evade the swinging branches to get close enough to touch the trunk in their first year, but being unable to stop the tree from swinging wildly, had subsequently been sent flying. That same night had lead to Snape following them into the grounds, and their first meeting with Gilles Rochefort, the notorious Death Eater and murderer wanted for the slaying of Frank Longbottom's family.

Now, James and Sirius had carefully filled their enchanted map with commands that would reveal anyone on the school grounds, so they could see if they were being followed. They had also populated the map with the few secret passages they knew of, but they did not know exactly where the passage under the willow was.

'Well, maybe we should just plan things out, then,' Sirius suggested. 'I think we should be at the tree before Remus gets there.'

'Why?' James asked.

'So we can get a good view of what Madam Pomfrey does to stop it moving,' Sirius explained. 'Remember we couldn't see last year? If we can get closer, maybe under your invisibility cloak, we could see and then we could follow Remus.'

James nodded enthusiastically. 'I agree, that's a good plan. We should do that. But then we won't be able to see him off when he has to go…'

'So? We'll be seeing him off on our own not long after,' Sirius explained confidently.

James nodded, seeing no holes in the logic. 'Sounds like we have ourselves a plan,' he said with a smile. 'We should get some sleep, tomorrow's going to be a long night.'

The next morning began with Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was a long, slow class as Professor Mondego had them thoroughly review case studies wherein Dark Wizards had attacked children for no apparent reason.

'It is important for you to realize,' Mondego had said as he stalked through the classroom, 'that everyone is vulnerable to the attack of a Dark Wizard.

'I'm more worried of being vulnerable to an attack from him,' Sirius whispered.

'Comments, Mr. Black?' Mondego said suddenly from the front of the class.

Sirius smiled. 'Just clarifying my notes with my study partner, Professor,' he said brightly. Mondego's eyes narrowed at Sirius but he said nothing more as he swept to the front of the room. Sirius adopted an ugly look on his face. 'He gives me the creeps,' he muttered.

'Dumbledore must trust him to allow him to teach here,' Remus said sagely from their side. 'That should be enough for all of us.'

'I suppose you're right,' Sirius said. 'Hey, did you hear The Slytherin Quidditch trials are tonight. Think we should go?'

This was part of the plan. James and Sirius were going under the pretense of going down to the Pitch, which was why they wouldn't be able to see Remus off. They had already had Peter ask Remus to help him with homework up until his time of departure that night.

'Could be a good idea to do some scouting, be better prepared for the year…but Remus is leaving tonight,' James observed.

Remus waved a hand. 'Actually, I'm impressed to hear you're taking Quidditch so seriously. I'll be fine with Peter, and I'll be back in just a few days.'

And so the plan was afoot. As the day wore on, James and Sirius perfected the finer points of their plan whenever Remus was out of sight. Once they were safely away from the castle on their way to the Quidditch Pitch, they would don James' cloak and make their way to the Whomping Willow. Here, the most irritating part of the plan would take place—as James and Sirius would need to sit under the cloak for several hours until nightfall, when Remus was to be escorted out of the castle. After determining exactly what Madam Pomfrey did to stop the Whomping Willow from thrashing about, they would double back, retrieve Peter, and come back as a trio to investigate what was under the tree.

'Outstanding,' said Sirius proudly as James finished relaying this plan for what felt like the thirteenth time. 'Very covert. I think we may have outdone ourselves this time.'

'Cheers,' James said with a grin.

'What do you think is really going on?' Sirius asked, his jovial tone gone.

James frowned. 'Are you having second thoughts?'

Sirius shook his head. 'Curiosity killed the cat, but I'm not a cat, so I should be safe,' he said with a smile. 'But I do wonder if maybe we don't realize quite what we're getting ourselves into.'

'Only one way to find out,' James said. 'Are we good to go for tonight?'

Sirius nodded right away. 'Of course,' he replied.

The day seemed to pass at an agonizing crawl, as James had expected it would. They had left for the Quidditch Pitch as planned, and had sat by the base of the Whomping Willow hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak for several hours.

'…and Regulus just totally bought into this pure blood mania that they were spouting,' Sirius was explaining about his family background. 'And we've really been at odds ever since. It doesn't really surprise me that he ended up in Slytherin with all those other like-minded idiots, but still…I kind of hoped that I would somehow rub off on him.'

James nodded sympathetically. The sun was setting and dusk was arriving on the grounds. It wouldn't be long now.

'What do you think we're going to find out?' Sirius asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

James rolled his eyes. 'I don't know, maybe he's a vampire,' he said sarcastically.

'Can't be,' Sirius replied. 'He comes out in daylight, doesn't he?' at James' surprised look, Sirius looked embarrassed. 'I've considered the idea,' he said quickly. 'That something about him is different. It wouldn't make a difference to me even if he was vampire.'

James chuckled. 'I doubt it's anything like that,' he said reassuringly. 'But it's definitely something they want to keep a secret.'

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he saw the shapes of two people coming out of the entrance of Hogwarts. He elbowed Sirius in the ribs and they both watched attentively as the two shapes grew larger. It became apparent in very short order that they were Madam Pomfrey and Remus.

James and Sirius quickly moved to a different position at the side of the tree, side-long from where they remembered Madam Pomfrey standing last year. They stood quietly, the only sounds that greeted their ears were the noises made by their own nervous breathing. Madam Pomfrey stopped well short of swinging distance of the Whomping Willow, which was standing deceivingly still, almost as if it were a regular tree.

James watched with fascination as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, and a bit of wood flew off the ground and smacked against a rather large knob at the base of the tree. One branch had been waving about idly at that point, and it instantly stopped. Madam Pomfrey then walked forward with Remus until they were at the base of the tree.

'I'll be back for you in the morning,' they heard her say and Remus nodded, stepping down once more into the entrance at the base of the tree. Madam Pomfrey left once again, and James noted that the branches of the tree began to sway back and forth once more.

'It's the knot on the tree,' Sirius breathed. 'It controls the branches! Pity she used a non-verbal spell.'

'Are you a wizard or not?' James chided. 'I think a simple Winguardium Leviosa will do the trick. But come on, we need to get Peter. Check the map—is there anyone about that we need to be wary of?'

Sirius pulled their map from his pocket and tapped it, muttering the phrase to unlock it. 'No,' he said after a few moments. 'Looks like Snivelly is in his common room, and Filch is near the kitchens. We should have a clear path back to Gryffindor tower.'

They took off at a jog back into the castle. They didn't want a moment wasted—they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady to find Peter waiting for them. 'About time,' he said. 'It's nearly curfew. Did you have any luck?'

'Yeah, we know how to stop the tree branches. Now come on!' James hissed and Peter joined them underneath the invisibility cloak and they made their way back down the stairs with haste. 'Check the map,' James reminded Sirius who complied and informed them they were still all clear.

The moon had not yet risen in the sky as they crossed the darkening grounds of the school. They hurried back to the Whomping Willow which, in their absence, seemed to have begun waving its branches in a slightly more menacing manner.

'So…you've figured this out, have you?' Peter asked nervously.

'Fairly certain,' James said. 'Let's give it a shot.' He scanned the ground until he located a fairly large sized branch and he pointed his wand at it from underneath the cloak. 'Winguardium Leviosa,' he murmured and the branch floated into the air. He motioned it towards the tree and it glided over silently. The three of them watched intently as it fortunately made its way through the waving branches and collided with the knot at the base of the tree. At once, the branches stopped moving.

'Go!' Sirius hissed and the three of them rushed to the base of the tree. Once there, the hole at the foot of the trunk was obvious, and it was also obviously small.

'One at a time. Peter, you first,' James hissed. Peter obliged without question and sank into the hole. Sirius went next, and James followed at last, pocketing his invisibility cloak as he did so. 'Looks like we were right about this being a secret passage,' he mused as they found themselves in a tunnel that sloped slowly upwards.

'Wonder where it leads?' Sirius asked.

'You should put this on the map as long as we're here,' Peter suggested.

James shook his head with amazement. He was periodically surprised by the insight that Peter had to offer. 'Good idea,' he complimented and even in the dark, it was evident that Peter looked very pleased with himself.

They walked in silence until they arrived at the apex of the tunnel, leading into a room that appeared to be lit by magic. There was no sign of candles, lanterns, or even windows or doors that lead to the outside world. James, Sirius and Peter stepped into the room silently. Peter opened his mouth to speak but was silenced instantly by Sirius, who clapped his hand over Peter's mouth.

James and Sirius traded glances and nodded. They moved forward, looking around earnestly for some sign of Remus.

They found him sitting quietly in a chair in the next room, staring at the floor absently.

'Hello, Remus,' James said brightly.

Remus leapt from his chair, whirling to face them and they were alarmed to see his face white with a combination of rage and fear. 'I—how—what are you DOING here?' Remus bellowed.

'We've come to see you,' Sirius said brightly. 'Does your Mum visit you here?'

'You don't understand—this is foolish, you shouldn't be here! Leave! Now!' Remus shouted.

'Will you stop shouting? We snuck out, in case you hadn't noticed, we'd like to not be caught by a teacher,' James chided.

Remus stepped forward, looking quite demented. 'You have no idea what you are doing,' he hissed. 'Get out of here now before someone gets hurt!'

Sirius frowned. 'Are you threatening us, Loony?'

'NO!' Remus yelled. 'I don't want to hurt any of you—but I will if you don't leave!'

James' mouth had gone dry. 'Remus, what's going on? What aren't you telling us?'

Remus looked positively panic stricken. 'You have to go, before the moon comes up—I promise, if you leave now I'll explain everything when I get back, but you simply HAVE TO GO—'

He cut off in mid sentence and seemed to suddenly go rigid. His eyes went wide and he was grimacing in apparent agony. He began to hyperventilate and he looked quite deranged, spitting from his mouth as he inhaled and exhaled rapidly.

'Re—Remus?' Peter asked tentatively.

'He's having a fit,' Sirius breathed.

'We should get a teacher,' James said, but then Remus howled—a sound that made the hairs on the backs of all of their necks stand up at once. It was an anguished and angry sound that carried a deep sense of forboding.

'What on…' Sirius breathed but again, he was struck silent by what he saw. The three of them remained paralyzed on the spot as Remus fell to the floor and began thrashing about in a most inhuman fashion. His legs seemed to elongate and bend backwards at an impossible angle as at the same time, his neck and head seemed to elongate. That same chilling howl was crowing from his mouth as this all occurred.

'Guys—' Peter was shouting in panic.

It was now becoming clear what was happening. Fur had sprouted all over Remus' body as his clothing ripped and shredded, tearing and bursting off of him as he grew to several times his normal size. His teeth had sharpened and grown into fangs, and his eyes had become the size of orbs, black as the night sky outside had been. Finally, the transformation seemed complete, and James, Remus and Peter were left facing a very large, very angry looking wolf.

'Werewolf,' breathed Sirius.

The wolf bared its teeth and roared at them. 'Look out!' James cried as it suddenly lunged forward. He bodily shoved Sirius and Peter away and dove to the side himself as the wolf careened between them, hitting a wall with no apparent regard for its own well being. It turned around and roared once more.

Peter had drawn his wand, but Sirius batted it aside. 'Don't hurt him!' he yelled. 'We need to get out of here, now!' he bellowed.

'I'll distract him—get to the tunnel!' James yelled and he backed further into the house. 'Lumos,' he cried and his wand ignited. 'Oi! You! Come and get me! I taste good!'

The wolf turned, snarling, and advanced slowly on James.

'That's right,' James breathed. 'I taste like chicken, I promise…come on!'

Over the wolf's shoulders, James saw Sirius and Peter making their way to the tunnel entrance. He would need to move exceptionally quick. As the wolf reared and prepared to advance, James flicked his wand and shouted 'Conjunctivitus!'

The spell hit the wolf full in the face and it thrashed into a wall, wailing and howling in agony. James sprinted around and dove into the tunnel where Sirius and Peter were waiting. 'Go! Run! Now!' he yelled and they crawled, crouched and ran as fast as they could through the small tunnel until they arrived back at the entrance underneath the Whomping Willow.

'How do we stop the branches?' Peter fretted.

'Who cares, just get out! The tree will do us less harm than he will!' James yelled.

He lead the way. No sooner had he extracted himself from the ground than he was smacked across the grass, rolling and tumbling away from the tree. He was quickly joined by Sirius and Peter, who tumbled and fell next to him. They lay there for a moment, panting, before James pulled out his invisibility cloak over them.

'Oh boy,' Sirius whispered after a moment.

'What just happened?' Peter moaned.

James chewed his lip. 'Well,' he said with an attempt at humor. 'That explains a fair bit.'


	8. Misunderstandings and Codes

8

The common room was empty when James, Sirius and Peter made their way back from the school grounds. In silence, they took up chairs in the dilapidated but comfortable seats around the still-crackling fire. They sat, stone-faced and quiet for several minutes before Sirius stirred in his seat and cleared his throat.

'So…what does this mean?'

Peter gulped. 'Do you think the teachers know?' he asked.

'Obviously,' Sirius said irritably. 'That's why they've been sneaking him out of here…I guess they do it at the full moon each month.'

Peter slapped a hand to his forehead. 'I should have put that together,' he groaned. 'I've got all those books on lunar cycles, and I even talked about the full moon a few times…but why didn't he tell us?'

James shook his head. 'It's a difficult stigma to live with, Peter,' he said. 'Werewolves are regarded as extremely dangerous—and not without reason. You saw what Remus became in there tonight.'

'But Remus himself is harmless,' Peter said.

'Of course he is,' James said calmly. 'I'm not saying I have an issue with werewolves, but the wizarding world in general gives them a fairly wide berth. No wonder they decided to keep it a secret,' he muttered. 'I can only imagine the field day the Slytherins would have if they knew about this.'

'I think we need to resolve not to tell a soul about what happened tonight,' Sirius said. 'We can't let that secret out. We can't do that to him.'

James nodded. 'And we're still his friends,' he said firmly. 'This doesn't change anything, right?'

Sirius agreed immediately. Peter hesitated and then nodded his agreement as well. 'He's still Remus,' he said quietly.

'He's not going to be very happy when he comes back,' James mused. 'They obviously went to pretty great lengths to hide this from the rest of the school.'

Sirius snorted. 'Putting a lethal tree on the school grounds sure sounds like good protection,' he muttered. 'I think I got more banged up by the tree than I did by Remus. But what are we going to do about this?'

'What do you mean?' Peter asked.

'Well, it must be a really hard thing to deal with on your own—transforming, I mean,' Sirius continued. 'There's got to be a way for us to support him.'

Peter looked pale. 'You mean be there when he transforms again? We could get killed!'

'Grow a back bone, Peter,' Sirius said savagely. 'Are you his friend or not?'

'That's enough,' James said firmly. 'You both raise a good point. I think we should look for ways that we can support him, but being present when he transforms again probably isn't the best way to do it if we want to live long lives. We'll have to think of something. Maybe Remus will have an idea?'

Sirius nodded. 'That's a good plan,' he sighed. 'We can ask him when he gets back.'

Peter looked uncomfortable. 'Do you think he'll still want to be friends with us?' he asked. 'I mean, we did follow him when we weren't supposed to, and he obviously wanted to keep it a secret as well…'

Sirius looked worried. 'I don't think so,' he said, but he didn't sound overly confident.

'There's no point in worrying about something that hasn't happened yet,' James said firmly again. 'Right now, we know what he is and we know it doesn't change the way we feel about him as a friend. Are we agreed?' Sirius and Peter nodded. 'Good. Marauders stick together—that's the important thing.'

Sirius looked thoughtful. 'Wonder how he would fare against the Death Eaters in his werewolf form,' he said. 'Could be a useful trick.'

'From what I know of werewolves, they can't control themselves,' James sighed. 'They're just as dangerous to friends as they are to foes. That wouldn't really be a benefit.'

'So what do we do now?' Peter asked.

'I guess we go to bed,' James replied.

From their past experiences, they knew that Remus would not be back for a couple of days. They decided to kill some time the following morning by going out into the grounds to enjoy the bright and sunny—if altogether too cold—day.

'I should have seen this coming,' Peter was saying again. 'All the signs were there.'

'None of us expected something like this, Peter,' James said. 'We just need to have a plan of how we're going to address this. Obviously he knows we know.'

'Does he, though?' Sirius asked. 'What if he can't really remember anything that happens around his transformation? He might not know that we know…you know?' he finished lamely.

James smiled. 'Not unless our luck changes,' he said dryly. 'And speaking of luck…'

He didn't get to finish his sentence. A jinx hurtled through the air and struck Sirius, and he suddenly went stiff as a board and toppled over, an expression of surprise frozen on his face. James leapt to his feet, wand drawn. Peter was still staring, dumbstruck, at the site of Sirius paralyzed on the ground.

'Nice one, Regulus,' Mulciber was saying as a group of Slytherins headed their way. Leading the way was Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother. He was flanked by Mulciber and Avery, with Snape bringing up the rear. Snape was grinning maliciously.

'Finite incantatem,' James murmured, pointing his wand at Sirius who suddenly re-animated. He jumped to his feet, menace in his eyes.

'The tables have turned now, haven't they?' Snape sneered. 'Now it's you who's outnumbered, Potter. You still up for a fight, or are you going to run away?'

Sirius snorted. 'Don't be thick, Snivelly, of course we intend to fight! Only there's three of us and four of you. Hardly seems fair. Maybe we'll give you a chance to surrender?' he taunted.

James laughed. Peter was now standing slightly behind them, his own wand drawn.

Snape looked livid. 'I did warn you Potter, to leave well enough alone. You've brought this on yourself.'

'Are we talking about Evans?' James asked with a scoff. 'I think she can decide what she wants for herself without you sticking your big nose into the middle of it.'

Sirius laughed rather loudly. Even James and Peter looked at him quizzically. 'It's funny…because his nose is huge,' Sirius pointed out.

Snape moved first; he slashed his wand through the air. James dove and rolled to the side, coming to his feet and pointing his wand at Snape. 'Levicorpus!' he shouted and Snape was suddenly yanked upwards into the air by his ankle.

'Let me down!' Snape roared.

Meanwhile, Regulus was doing his level best to attack Sirius, who was simply blocking his spells. 'Not so easy when your target knows you're about to attack, is it?' Sirius was saying mockingly. 'You're pathetic, Regulus. You were pathetic at home and you're pathetic here at Hogwarts. Honestly, throwing your lot in with these fools?' With the last word, Sirius flicked his wand casually and Regulus' wand flew through the air into his outstretched hand.

'Well you've always been a bully,' Regulus said hotly. 'You'll get yours one of these days.'

Sirius smiled darkly. 'Maybe,' he said. 'But not today. 'Tarantallegra!' he shouted and Regulus' legs began motoring about absurdly. 'Maybe once you've run a few marathons I'll cut you loose,' Sirius shouted. 'Oi!'

James looked over from where he was busy using the Rictumsempra spell on the upside down Snape, causing him to be tickled mercilessly. Mulciber and Avery had double-teamed poor Peter; they weren't even using their wands, but rather Avery was holding Peter from behind while Mulciber punched him repeatedly.

Sirius waved his wand and a pair of enormous bat wings suddenly erupted from Mulciber's nostrils as the Bat-Bogey Hex found its mark. Mulciber staggered about, flapping his own arms wildly at the wings protruding from his face. Avery dropped Peter dumbly and reached for his wand again, but James was faster. 'Expelliarmus!' he yelled and Avery's wand flew into his hand. He and Sirius advanced on him.

'Two against one was hardly fair, was it, Sirius?' James said darkly.

'Too right it was. Imagine how that must feel?' Sirius said back through gritted teeth as they continued stalking forwards. Avery was backing up, looking terrified. 'What to do with him, what to do with him,' Sirius muttered.

'WHAT is going ON?' came a sudden voice from behind them. James whipped his head around to see Lily Evans standing there, looking outraged. 'POTTER!' she screamed. 'What are you doing?'

James looked around and their handiwork; Snape was hanging upside down in mid-air, laughing and crying uncontrollably as James had neglected to lift his tickling charm. Regulus was running around all over the place, screaming for help as he couldn't control his legs. Mulciber was similarly running around, still trying to extract the massive bat wings from his face. And there was he and Sirius, advancing on a wand-less Avery.

'Finite incantatem,' Lily said calmly. At once, Snape dropped to the ground, Regulus stopped running about, and the bat bogeys vanished from Mulciber's face. 'Give Avery back his wand, Potter. Now,' Lily hissed.

'Certainly, Evans,' James said. He turned to Avery and lofted his wand into the air. 'Oppugno!' he said firmly, and the wand launched forward and smacked Avery between the eyes. He fell to the ground, clutching his face.

'POTTER!' Lily yelled angrily.

'Let that be a lesson to you,' Sirius snarled. 'Not to team up on our friends.' He turned to help Peter to his feet as Avery ran over to the others. Regulus and Snape were having trouble getting to their feet, being as exhausted as they were from the jinxes they had had placed upon them. Mulciber and Avery helped them and they all fled quickly—Snape with a short, pleading look at Lily which she ignored.

She stalked over to James, Sirius and Peter. 'What exactly do you mean by this, Potter?' she asked.

'Mean by what?' James asked.

'This! Attacking Sev and his friends?' Lily asked.

Sirius gaped. 'You've got to be joking,' he said.

'Oh come on, everyone in the school knows you like a good laugh at his expense,' Lily said bitterly. 'Just when I thought maybe you were alright, you go ahead and do something like this again?' she said exasperatedly.

'It wasn't like that, Evans,' James said. 'They attacked us!'

'They set my brother on me,' Sirius said defensively. 'If that doesn't warrant a little self defense…'

'Self defense?' Lily said sarcastically. 'Hanging Sev by his foot and tickling him until he's blue in the face? Throwing Avery's wand back in his face when he has no way of defending himself? That doesn't sound like self defense to me!'

James grimaced. This was beginning to give him a headache. 'Look, you see what you want to see. You want to think your little friend Sev is all good and fine, and that's just dandy for you. But the rest of us live in this little world called reality, and the reality is that he's a complete and total git.'

'You shut up about him!' Lily said hotly. 'You don't know anything about him!'

'I know more than you think!' James said just as hotly.

Sirius was stepping between them now. 'I think that's enough,' he said evenly. 'Look, it was just a scrap. Nothing more. No need to get testy with each other, Lily wasn't even involved,' he said the last part to James.

'I'm just tired of always being the bad guy,' James snapped.

Lily's eyes narrowed. 'Maybe you should try being the good guy for once,' she snapped back. 'Instead of always going around picking on other people.' And with that, Lily turned and stormed off, leaving James, Sirius and Peter standing there feeling foolish.

'Thanks for helping out there, Peter,' Sirius said with a sigh. 'Great contribution to the conversation.'

Peter looked scandalized. 'What was I supposed to say?' he said, wiping blood off his face.

'Oh I don't know! How about they set my idiot brother on me, that they outnumbered us, that the held you in place while they attacked you and we rescued you?' Sirius said hotly. 'Honestly, you can be so slow sometimes.'

Now it was James stepping between them. 'I think that's enough,' he said, repeating Sirius' words back at him. 'We've got enough things to deal with in our group today without getting at each other's throats. You two have been tense ever since last night, so shake hands and make up. Now,' he added when neither of them had moved.

Begrudgingly, Sirius and Peter shook hands.

'Hold still, Peter—tergeo,' Sirius muttered and the blood on Peter's face was siphoned off. He sighed. 'Sorry. I didn't mean to lose my temper it's just…I…hate Regulus. A lot,' he said through gritted teeth.

'I'm sorry too,' Peter said quickly, looking relieved. 'I should have jumped in. Maybe I can track Lily down and talk some sense into her?'

James waved a hand dismissively. 'Don't bother, we need to deal with Remus. We can worry about her later.'

It was late the next evening when Remus slowly made his way through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room. The room itself was still relatively packed with their fellow Gryffindors, so Remus gestured silently for the others to follow him into the hallway.

He lead them through the school until they arrived in a particularly dark hallway—no windows or portraits adorned the walls. They were quite alone.

'Well?' Remus said quietly, his back turned to them.

'Well what?' Peter asked anxiously.

'Get on with it, then,' Remus said in a funny voice.

Sirius looked at James, confused. 'Get on with what?'

Remus turned to face them with tears in his eyes. 'Tell me you can't be my friends anymore,' he whispered. 'Tell me you're afraid of me, or that you think I'm terrible, or that I'm a monster. Don't worry about my feelings.'

'What are you drivelling about?' James asked in surprise.

'It's always the same,' Remus said in exasperation. 'You three know just how well received a—a—what I am is in our world,' he said in a hollow voice. 'So go on, get it over with. I understand.'

James chuckled. 'Remus, I don't think you're giving us a whole lot of credit right now. Are you expecting us to say we can't be friends with you anymore?'

Remus opened his mouth and closed it again, tears rolling down his cheeks. 'Everyone else has,' he said quietly. 'Any friend I've ever had before school…I always told them at some point. I don't like lying, I don't like hiding. And even if they were OK with it, their parents never were. There was always someone who called me a monster or a freak. That's why we decided that it had to be a secret when I came to Hogwarts. That's why Dumbledore made me swear not to tell anyone. That's why we've been so careful, that's why we said my mother's sick.'

The words were coming out in a rush now. None of Sirius, James or Peter made to interrupt him.

'For as long as I've known now, this has been my life,' Remus said bitterly. 'I've never had friends. Never. Not until I met you three. And I wanted to tell you…just like I've always wanted to tell my friends. But experience had taught me not to. Because no matter how much I loved my friends, they could never love me enough to look past what I was, and they all ended up leaving me in the end.'

He dropped to the floor and buried his face in his hands.

'Remus,' James said. 'Look at me.' Remus shook his head stubbornly. 'Remus, we're not like your other friends. We're not your typical wizards. Have you forgotten what we are?'

Sirius crouched down next to Remus. 'We're Marauders, mate,' he said cheerfully. 'The four of us. You, me, James and Peter. And we look out for one another, no matter what.'

'We won't turn our backs on you,' Peter chimed in. 'And your secret is safe with us. We won't tell another soul.'

Remus looked up now, a look of shock on his face. 'You're not…you're not frightened of me?'

'Of you? No,' Sirius said with a grin. 'Of that giant, toothy thing you turn into…a little bit, yeah,' he said. Remus managed a small laugh. 'Evidently I've given you the wrong nickname, though. Loony doesn't seem to quite do you justice—maybe I should call you Moony?'

'Might be a bit of a giveaway in general company,' Remus said with a small laugh.

James smiled. 'So are we established in your confidence then?' he said. 'Remus, the true monsters are the ones who turned their backs on a friend who needed them. That…that is the height of dishonour. You're our friend, and we're right here with you. Anything we can do to help, we will do it. That's the Marauder code.'

Remus smiled, and the tears were flowing again. 'It surprises me how you can act so grown up sometimes, James,' he said as he wiped his eyes.

'What can I say,' James said with a smirk as he extended a hand, hauling Remus to his feet. 'It's a kind of magic.'


	9. Matches and Recruits

9

The next few weeks seemed to pass in a blur. Elated that his friends had not abandoned him, Remus was now more talkative than ever. The same could not be said for Lily, who had refused to hear a word from James since her intervention in their altercation with Snape. This was not helped by the impending first Quidditch Match of the year, which would pit Gryffindor against Slytherin.

'I heard Snivelly's one of the Beaters,' Sirius was saying as they lounged in front of the fire in the common room. 'Hard to imagine him managing to stay upright on his broom, with that giant anvil attached to his face. His nose, I mean,' he said with a snort.

'Beater, you say? That means we'll be going head to head for most of the match,' James said thoughtfully. 'I wonder if I can knock him off his broom and throw the Quaffle in at the same time?'

A loud slam from across the room indicated that Lily had been listening. She slammed her book shut and stormed back into the girls' dormitory. Frank Longbottom and Alice Dearborn walked over. 'All right, you lot?' Frank said with an easy smile.

'She's still mad, then?' James asked, nodding at the door where Lily had just disappeared to.

Alice shrugged. 'She's usually pretty cranky,' she said with a smirk. 'Personally I don't get it. I think Snape is bad news.'

'Wicked!' James said with a grin.

'I didn't say you were any better,' Alice said, but she winked playfully as she leaned against Frank. 'You ready for the match then?'

James nodded enthusiastically. 'I can't wait to play an actual game. There's only so much practice I can take, and Dorcas has been running us kind of ragged.'

'All part of preparation,' Frank said. 'Dorcas reckons McGonagall might ease up on your homework in the leadup to the game.'

'Ours?' Sirius echoed hopefully.

'Quidditch players,' James clarified, and Sirius looked mournful. 'And Frank's exempt from that anyway as he's a few years ahead of us.'

'No rest for the weary,' Frank said with a sigh as he looked at Alice with a smile. 'Shall we go for a walk?'

And with that, they were gone, walking closely together out of the portrait hole.

'I think your strategy of trying to win Lily over while simultaneously badgering Snape needs an overhaul,' Remus said shrewdly.

'Oh come off it—they attacked us!' James said angrily.

'This time, yes,' Remus said reasonably. 'But there have been instances where you have not exactly been an innocent bystander. You just might want to consider that.'

James snorted. 'I'd rather Lily consider the fact that her friend is a prat,' he muttered to a roar of laughter from Sirius.

'As ideal as that would be, I would say it's unlikely,' Remus said. 'So you might want to consider being the bigger man. That's all I'm saying.'

James looked at Sirius who smirked. 'Where's the fun in that?' Sirius said and he let out another bark-like laugh.

The day of the match had arrived. As predicted, McGonagall had lightened the workload of the Gryffindor team considerably, but this was almost made up for by an increased workload from Professor Mondego, who seemed hell bent on tipping the scales in Slytherin's favour.

'Better be on your best behavior in class,' Remus warned. 'Don't give him any excuses to give you detentions or to take points from Gryffindor.'

James did his best to be a model student. Mondego asked him difficult questions at every turn—'What defense would you use against a stunning spell?' 'Shield charm.' 'What would you use against an Unforgiveable curse?' 'I'd run.' 'What would you use against someone who employed Legilimency against you?'

'Occlumency,' James said at once.

He was dimly aware of the class muttering around him; not many seemed to know what he was talking about. And he noted, with satisfaction, that Mondego looked mildly surprised. 'You are aware of Occlumency?' he asked slowly.

James nodded.

Mondego grudgingly moved away, stopped, and looked back at James. 'One point to Gryffindor,' he said quietly. 'There is another if you can tell me what exactly the use of Occlumency is.'

'I'm not entire sure,' James said, 'but I think it's supposed to protect the mind.'

Mondego looked at James carefully. 'From?'

'From other wizards,' James said simply.

Mondego looked positively foul now. 'Another point for Gryffindor,' he said, as if the words were wrenched from his mouth. 'Be seated, Potter. Occlumency, as he has so poorly yet accurately stated, is the magical protection of the mind against external penetration. It is an extremely obscure branch of magic, but it is also highly useful.'

Snape raised his hand. Mondego nodded in his direction. 'Isn't its use most commonly found amongst Dark Wizards?' she asked.

'It is, ten points for Slytherin,' said Mondego. James and Sirius traded scandalized looks. 'And why would a skill such as Occlumency be useful for a Dark Wizard, Mr. Snape?'

Snape looked eager. 'Because you would be able to conceal your true intentions from people,' he said. 'No one would be able to tell if you were being untruthful.'

'Correct,' said Mondego. 'Take another twenty points for Slytherin.'

'Unfair, that is,' Sirius muttered as they left class a short while later. 'Gets you to do the hard work and then gives Snivelly points for the easy answers. Even I'd heard of Dark Wizards using Occlumency—even if I had no idea what it was,' he added with a smile.

'Well, it went better than we could have hoped,' Remus said reassuringly.

'Exactly,' Peter chimed in. 'We actually got points for Gryffindor, rather than losing some. I think James did really well.'

James looked at Peter, feeling rather embarrassed. 'Thanks for the…er…ringing endorsement, Peter,' he said. He looked out the window as they passed—clear blue sky as far as he could see. It was a beautiful day for a Quidditch match.

'Nervous?' Remus asked from his side.

'Not in the least,' James replied. 'I can't wait to get out there.'

'Is that so?' came a cold, drawling voice from behind them. James turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing there, flanked by Snape and Regulus. Regulus was leering in an ugly fashion at Sirius, who returned the look with interest. 'So eager to rush to defeat, Potter?'

James smirked. 'Don't tell me you play,' he said.

'I do. Team Captain, in fact,' Malfoy said with pride. 'I will be Severus' counter part.'

'Oh good. I know most beaters are usually short on brains, but I think you two will set a new standard,' James said loudly, causing laughter from around the hall.

'Why aren't you playing, Sirius?' Regulus taunted. 'Too terrible a flier?'

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Regulus, you're so slow on a broom that you're stationary. People in glass houses ought not to throw stones,' he mocked. Peter giggled maniacally at the joke.

'We'll see you on the pitch,' Malfoy sneered. 'And then we'll see what to make of all of your bold talk, Potter.'

The three of them stalked off, leaving James, Sirius, Remus and Peter to stare after them. 'Prat,' Sirius muttered. 'Bet you he had to buy his way onto the team.'

'More than likely,' Remus said rather stiffly. 'His father is Abraxas Malfoy. He has some…friends in high places,' he said with an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face. 'He hates half breeds, and considers werewolves to fall into that category. People like him are a big reason why I have to be so secretive,' he muttered.

Sirius was surprised. 'I never thought I'd hear Moony talk ill of someone.'

Remus looked around, but no one was in earshot. 'Have a care with that name, Sirius,' he chided.

'If it'll make you feel better,' James said bracingly, 'I'll be sure to knock Malfoy off of his broom, too.'

'You're promising a lot of things in this game,' Remus said reproachfully. 'Don't forget that your principle objective is to put the Quaffle through the hoop.'

James waved a hand dismissively. 'Piece of cake,' he said. 'Speaking of cake, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat. I play better on a full stomach.'

The match arrived. James was sitting in the Gryffindor dressing room putting on his gear. Gideon and Fabian Prewett were joking loudly in their corner of the room. Dirk Cresswell, as he had the first day they had met him, was napping in his stall. Alice and Frank were talking excitedly next to each other, and Dorcas Meadowes was pacing the room in an anxious fashion.

'Have a seat, Dorcas, you'll get everyone worked up,' Fabian said pleasantly.

'Oh shut up,' snapped Dorcas and everyone looked at her in surprise. 'Sorry,' she said shortly, 'I'm just nervous. Big game.'

'Course it is, but we've got this in the bag,' Gideon said confidently. 'They made Malfoy their Captain. He's more interested in having brawn on his team than brains.'

'Are you saying we're short on brawn?' Fabian joked.

Gideon grinned. 'Hardly,' he said. 'But the rest of the team has to make up for our lack of brains, me laddo.'

James chuckled. Dorcas rounded on him. 'You've scouted their beaters and their keeper?' she asked anxiously.

'I know the beaters are Malfoy and Snivelly,' James said.

'Malfoy and who?' Dorcas repeated.

'Snivelly. Snape,' James said to a roar of laughter from the Prewetts. Dorcas shook her head with a faint smile. 'I've got it under control. Frank, Dirk and I will put more than a few Quaffles in, don't worry about us.'

'And how's our seeker?' Dorcas asked, moving over to Alice and Frank.

'Ready to go,' Alice said confidently.

'Just watch out for any flying bludgers this time,' Dorcas chided.

'We're not planning on hitting any her way,' Gideon supplied helpfully.

Dorcas checked her watch. 'It's time. Good luck, everyone. Let's go.'

They made their way out onto the Quidditch Pitch. Madam Hooch stood in the center of the field, waiting for the players to arrive. Lucius Malfoy strolled up on the Slytherin side as their Captain. James saw Snape glaring at him from further back on the field. Mulciber and Avery were also on the team, along with a slew of people that he did not recognize.

'Captains, shake hands,' Madam Hooch instructed.

Dorcas extended her hand. Malfoy sneered for a moment before taking it—it was clear he was trying to offer an extra tight grip, but Dorcas grinned darkly. 'My mother's hand shake is harder than yours,' she said quietly. Lucius looked livid but dropped her hand.

'Game on,' Madam Hooch called. The quaffle flew into the air and James launched up after it. He spared a quick glance around and saw Mulciber hurtling towards not the quaffle, but him. James executed a Sloth roll and dodged Mulciber, who hurtled past him. He caught the quaffle and whipped around to face the Slytherin hoops. He launched himself forward, dodging past another chaser and coming roaring in towards Snape, who whacked a bludger at him with great force.

'Let's see what you've got,' James muttered. He kicked himself into a flip and struck the bludger with the base of his broom, sending it flying back at Snape. While Snape contended with trying to catch it, James whipped the quaffle over to Dirk, who deftly passed it to Frank who deposited it through the center hoop for ten points. The Gryffindors in the crowd erupted into cheers, joined by the vast majority of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students.

'C'mon, Snivelly, surely you can do better,' James taunted as he flew past Snape. In a fit of temper, Snape smashed a bludger towards him, but James idly dodged it again. 'Wotcher now! Hark who's behind you!'

Snape turned. While he had been distracted, Frank and Dirk had zoomed in with the Quaffle again, two-on-one against Lucius. Remus appeared to have been right—Lucius was a dreadful flier, and he flailed feebly at Frank as he threw another quaffle through a hoop to extend their lead to twenty-to-nothing.

James laughed. This was all too easy. He started to make his way back towards his own side of the pitch when he was bumped from the side by Lucius, who was grinning maliciously. 'Looks like you have a fan, Potter.'

James followed his gaze—and felt his blood run cold.

Standing at the far end of the pitch, almost hidden in shadow, was a tall and imposing figure. He wore a dark brown trench coat, and had long black hair that waved lazily in the wind. His face was covered in shadow, but there was no mistaking the glint of light that came from his right eye—a mechanical eye which normally whizzed and whirred around in its socket, but at the moment, was focused directly on James.

'Rochefort,' James breathed.

He looked at Lucius, who grinned and flew away. James looked back to where Rochefort had been standing, but he was gone. There was a loud cheer from the crowd, and James turned to look—Alice had caught the snitch and the game was over. James took one last look where Rochefort had been and zoomed down towards the ground, joining his teammates.

'Well done, Alice!' Dorcas was yelling over the cheers. 'That might be a record for the fastest capture yet! You sure showed them!'

Frank gave Alice a big hug and then they both separated, blushing. Frank looked at James and clapped him on the shoulder. 'Well done, James!' he said, but then he noticed James' face and he frowned. 'Something the matter?'

'We need to see Dumbledore, now,' said James urgently. But there was no need—James found himself being grabbed roughly by the scruff of his neck and being dragged across the pitch. 'Oi! What the—hey!' he yelled indignantly, and his voice was quickly joined by Frank's as they were dragged out of sight.

'Stay here,' Professor Mondego murmured.

James craned his neck to see around Mondego's tall and lanky frame to see that the students were being quickly ushered out of the stadium. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were directing students into the change rooms of the building to take refuge. It was clear that James had not been the only one to see Rochefort.

After an hour, everyone was allowed to return to the castle. The teachers had searched the grounds, but had been unable to locate Rochefort again. Everyone was talking anxiously about his appearance, but James did not take part. He somehow had the feeling that Rochefort hadn't just been there to taunt teachers or students—he had been there to taunt him, specifically. A suspicion that seemed to be confirmed when Professor McGonagall came to fetch him from the common room to bring him to see Dumbledore.

Arriving in Dumbledore's office, James was surprised to see the headmaster was not alone. Several other wizards were present, including James' father.

'Dad!' James called and he ran forward to embrace his father.

'Are you alright?' Mr. Potter asked urgently, and James nodded.

'Why wouldn't I be?'

Alastor Moody appeared at Mr. Potter's side. 'Because we've been worrying about something like this for a while,' he growled.

'That's enough, Alastor,' Mr. Potter said.

'He should know what's going on,' Moody said gruffly.

'And I will tell him, but on my own terms,' Mr. Potter said firmly. He looked at James. 'No questions just yet, alright son?'

James nodded, and Dumbledore motioned for him to sit, which he did. 'I apologize for bringing you in here, James,' he said. 'I just wanted to make sure you were alright.'

James looked around. 'I'm fine, why does everyone keep asking me that?'

Dumbledore looked at Mr. Potter, who sighed and nodded. 'James, you may recall at the end of last term how I told you and your fellow students of the existence of a man calling himself Lord Voldemort?'

A few of the wizards in the office stirred uncomfortably. The portraits surrounding the headmaster's desk were all listening intently. 'Yes,' James said slowly.

'We have reason to believe he is looking to acquire support,' Dumbledore said calmly. 'To build the ranks of his Death Eaters—his Dark Wizards who carry out his commands. We believe that is why he was here at Hogwarts.'

'And what's that got to do with me?' James asked.

Dumbledore looked at Mr. Potter, who nodded once more. 'We have received intelligence—and we believe it to be accurate—that among others, Voldemort would like to target you. To join him.'


	10. Attacks and Unforgiveables

10

James had not remained at the school for long after Dumbledore's pronouncement of Rochefort's intentions. Mr. Potter had requested that James be allowed to return home for the weekend, without having any questions asked of him by his friends or students. Dumbledore had obliged, and they had travelled via the Floo Network back to his home, where his mother was waiting.

'Thank goodness you're alright,' he said as she gave him a very tight hug. 'When we heard that Rochefort was on the grounds of the school...' she trailed off.

'Are we any safer here?' James asked, looking at his father.

Mr. Potter cleared his throat. 'There are steps we have taken to make the house safe...but then again, the same is supposed to be true for Hogwarts. Rochefort seems to have a knack for finding weaknesses in defenses.'

'Are you close to catching him?' James asked.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter traded glances. 'I don't know if that's something we should discuss, James,' his mother said gently. 'I think it's best if you leave Rochefort to your father.'

James set his jaw. 'If he's out to get me to try and recruit me for this Lord Voldything-' he ignored his mother wincing, '-then I think I have a right to ask questions.'

Mr. Potter sat down and looked at James evenly. 'No, we are not close to catching him,' he said quietly.

'Why not?' James demanded.

'He's not an easy person to catch, James. The only person more elusive than him is the person to whom he answers.'

'Voldemort,' James stated.

His father nodded. 'That's right.'

James considered this for a moment. 'Professor Dumbledore said that I was 'among others' that Voldemort wanted to recruit...who else is he after?'

'A lot of people,' Mr. Potter said quietly. 'Not much has changed since the attack on the Longbottoms last year. They're trying to build up an army, for what we believe will eventually be an all out attack on the Ministry of Magic.'

'A war?' James asked.

Mr. Potter nodded gravely. 'And what makes matters worse, is that it appears he is having success. Whether they are joining him willingly, or whether he is hoodwinking or blackmailing them, his numbers are growing at an alarming rate. And not just among wizards, either,' he added with a look at Mrs. Potter. 'But a number of other dark creatures.'

'Dark creatures? What sort of dark creatures?' James asked.

'I really do think that is enough,' Mrs. Potter said sternly. 'These are things he won't be covering in school for a number of years to come.'

James snorted. 'So? The things you guys teach me come in handy-like I knew what Occlumency was, so Professor Mondego gave points to Gryffindor.'

'Mondego?' Mr. Potter asked. 'Cristobal Mondego?'

'Yes,' James said. 'You know him?'

'In a manner of speaking,' Mr. Potter said with a frown, looking at his wife who looked equally mysterious. 'It was my suggestion to the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Minister of Magic to keep a close eye on him. I didn't realize they would appoint him a teacher at your school.'

James swallowed. 'Is he a dark wizard?'

'No, of course not,' Mr. Potter replied.

Mrs. Potter cleared her throat. 'He's a bit of an unknown commodity, and he would be an extremely valuable asset for either side in a conflict.'

'How?' James asked.

'As you said,' Mrs. Potter said stiffly. 'Occlumency. Professor Mondego is perhaps the most accomplished Occlumens of all time. He has written extensively on the subject, but even his brightest pupils have not had as much success with it as he has.'

'So why would that make him a valuable...thing?' James asked.

Mr. Potter stood from the table. 'Lord Voldemort seeks to know people's true intentions. He also seeks to probe their weaknesses, not just physically, but mentally. If he can find someone's weak spots-say a family member that he didn't know they had-he can push someone into doing anything he pleases. It seemed logical to assume that Mondego could be a target for Voldemort, either to join his ranks or to die opposing them.'

'But you said he was unknown?' James asked.

Mrs. Potter sighed. 'He's not exactly a Gryffindor, if you get my drift,' she said quietly. 'He is remarkably good at self preservation. But our concern is that that gift might lead him to join the side he feels is best equipped to win the war. Which could be the Death Eaters,' she added.

'Well then why is he at Hogwarts?' James asked, astounded.

'I can only guess, but I would hazard to say that as long as Dumbledore is near him, he should feel sufficiently safe. I do not believe Lord Voldemort would move against Dumbledore.'

'But...the Death Eaters attacked the school last year! They killed Professor Bowen!' James said.

'Indeed,' Mr. Potter said. 'And Dumbledore was able to apprehend the remaining Death Eaters and very nearly caught Voldemort's top lieutenant in Gilles Rochefort. The Death Eaters he apprehended that night were not small fish on the scale of criminals, James-these were all high ranking members of Voldemort's secret society. Losing that element of surprise and nearly losing Rochefort was a costly error for Voldemort. And we have you and your friends to thank for that.'

James looked at his feet. It was the first time he could recall in some time feeling proud of what had occurred that night. His thoughts usually dwelled on Professor Bowen.

'I think that's enough for now, James,' Mrs. Potter said gently. 'You should get some rest.'

*

But James was not tired. He entered his bedroom and immediately reached his hand into his robes. He had managed to grab his enchanted mirror before leaving the castle. He glanced at the clock-it was 1AM in the morning. He had a feeling, however, that Sirius would be awake. 'Sirius,' he said clearly into the mirror.

The faces of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew appeared in his mirror, all clamoring for a good view.

'Watch it, Remus-'

'-that's my foot, Peter-'

'-what's poking me?'

'-ouch, geroff-'

'Hullo, James!' Sirius said forcefully, as he shouldered Remus and Peter aside. 'We knew you'd get the mirror at some point. Why've you left? What's going on?'

'Mum and Dad wanted me home for the weekend. They say they want me close after what happened, but I think they're more worried than I am,' James said quietly.

Remus frowned. 'After what happened? Rochefort showing up at the school?'

'No,' James said, and he proceeded to tell the others everything that Dumbledore and his parents had told him. By the end, they all looked astounded.

'They want you to JOIN them?' Sirius said. 'Are they mad?'

'Evidently,' James sighed.

Remus' frown had become even more pronounced. 'Are you really all that safer there rather than here?'

'I asked the same question,' James said. 'But I think-'

The door to his room burst open. James whirled around to see his mother standing there with her wand drawn. She was in her night robe, but even in the dark, James could see that she had turned white. 'James, come quick-fireplace, now!'

'What's going on?' Sirius called from the mirror.

'Mum, what-' James began.

'They're here,' she said. 'Death Eaters. We have to go.'

She grabbed his arm and hauled him out of the bedroom. James looked down at the mirror where, Sirius, Remus and Peter all looked terrified. 'Get McGonagall! Tell them what you heard! Now!' he hissed and he pocketed the mirror.

'Where are you two?' came Mr. Potter's voice from the bottom of the stairs. James and his mother bounded down, taking them two at a time. 'They're trying to get through the enchantment at the front gate. It should hold long enough for us to get into the Floo network-'

But the door suddenly burst open, blowing off its hinges. Mr. Potter shoved his wife and son roughly into the kitchen and pointed his wand at the door. 'Reducto!' he cried, and the first person clambering through it was sent flying back out the door. 'Protego!' he added, pointing his wand at James and his mother. 'Get the Floo powder! I'll hold them off!'

'Stay here, don't move,' Mrs. Potter instructed James as she scrambled across the kitchen. Mr. Potter was taking cover behind a corner, periodically leaning around and casting a spell from behind it.

'Avada Kedavara!' came a voice from the doorway, and Mr. Potter barely dodged out of the way of the killing curse.

James, filled with fury, whipped around the corner. 'EXPELLIARMUS!' he yelled, and the Death Eater who had cast the killing curse lost his wand, which soared into James' hand. Now in possession of two wands, James pointed them both at the offending wizard and yelled, 'STUPEFY!' the double spell sent the wizard crashing straight through the outer wall of the house and out into the yard.

'Get BACK!' Mr. Potter yelled, hauling James out of the way was another spell flashed past. 'Confringio!' he cried and a Death Eater who was barging through the front door suddenly found his cloak was bursting into flames. 'Where's that Floo powder!' he cried.

'Here!' Mrs. Potter said, arriving at their side. 'The fireplace is in the living room-' she said.

'I'll draw their fire. You and James get out,' Mr. Potter said. 'I'll be right behind you.'

'Where will we go?' Mrs. Potter asked.

'Hogwarts!' James said at once. 'Sirius is alerting McGonagall, they'll know what's going on by now-'

The air was rent apart by a large explosion. The ceiling of the living room had just caved in, and two Death Eaters had come down with it. 'Stupefy!' yelled James and his father at the same time, and they were both knocked backwards.

'Up the stairs, go!' Mr. Potter yelled. James ran, dodging a spell as he did so. Mrs. Potter followed, 'Deprimo!' he cried, blasting a great wind from his wand at the Death Eaters in the living room. As he did so, he headed for the stairs, but they were suddenly splintered apart by a reductor curse from one of the Death Eaters.

'Dad!' James yelled.

'I'll be fine!' Mr. Potter yelled, running back into the kitchen, dodging a hail of curses as he did so.

'Come on, quickly, this way. There's an old fireplace upstairs, come on,' Mrs. Potter urged. They turned around and found themselves face to face with the glinting one-eyed menace that was Gilles Rochefort.

'Expelliarmus,' he said quietly and James' wand leapt from his hand. 'James Potter,' he said quietly. 'I would certainly love to kill you now...as I know it would cause your dear old Dad no end of torment. But I'm afraid I am actually delivering a request.'

'Oh yeah? What's that?' James said over the sounds of chaos emerging from downstairs, trying to sound brave as Mrs. Potter tried to stand between him and Rochefort.

'The Dark Lord is requesting an audience with you,' Rochefort said silkily.

'I'd rather YOU sought an audience with an undertaker!' James spat.

Rochefort smiled. 'I did so hope you would be difficult, as that allows me to have a little fun,' he said with a grin. 'Impedimenta,' he said calmly, blasting Mrs. Potter off her feet and into an opposite room.

'Mum!' James yelled, diving after her, but not before Rochefort pointed his wand and hissed the word 'Crucio' at him.

James dropped to the floor, his mouth open in silent agony. It felt as though a million tiny knives were carving not just at his skin, but inside of him. He felt as if his fingernails were being ripped from his hands, his hair from his head, his teeth from his mouth, his eyes from their sockets-every single inch of him screamed in agony, and he knew no coherent thought. His entire world was pain, pain, pain as he had never felt. How he had ever felt anything else in his entire life would have been a mystery to him if he had even known how to think.

And then, everything went black.

*

James felt as though he was dreaming. He couldn't really tell for sure whether he was or wasn't, as he couldn't really feel his own body. He would try to move his fingers or his toes, but there was no way to really be certain whether or not anything was happening. At times, it sounded as though people were talking. He tried to speak, but much like moving, he was not certain whether anything was happening.

'Maybe I'm in a coma,' James thought to himself. He tried to remember what had happened, but everything seemed slippery-like he was trying to hold a fist full of sand and he wasn't able to retain anything.

'What are you doing here?' came a distant, familiar voice.

'I-I thought I would just check,' came another familiar voice.

'Not going to find a way to blame this one on him, are you?' the first voice said angrily.

'Of course not-how-how could you say that?' the second voice said.

'Oh I don't know,' the first voice said sarcastically. 'You never stop to ask him questions, you always assume he's the bad guy, and now look at him!'

The second voice said nothing. After a moment, the first voice spoke again, but it was softer. 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have...I'm just worried.'

'They told me you haven't left his side,' the second voice said after a while. The first voice grunted. 'You should get some food at least,' the second voice said gently.

'Not hungry. I'll eat when he wakes up.'

James was able to place the first voice-it came to him very suddenly. It was Sirius. James tried as hard as he could to move, and suddenly his vision went white. He tried to scream in pain but nothing came out-it was as if a great blinding light was shining in his face.

And then it was gone, and then the world was in focus. He was staring up at the ceiling of the hospital wing at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If he had screamed, no one seemed to have notice. He took a moment and blinked-he could feel himself blink. He wiggled his toes. He could feel that too! He sat bolt upright as fast as he could.

'ARGH!' Sirius screamed, and he fell out of the chair he'd been sitting in. The owner of the second voice yelped and jumped backwards, and James realized (with a leaping sensation in his chest) that it was Lily Evans. 'You're awake!' Sirius cried, recovered now, and he looked at James excitedly. 'How do you feel?'

'Not...' James tried to say, but his voice was dry and cracked. He motioned for someone to get him water, and Lily instantly did so. James gulped it down gratefully and looked at Sirius. 'Not that great,' he said truthfully. 'What happened?'

Lily and Sirius traded glances. 'What do you remember?'

'I remember going home,' James said. 'I remember talking to my parents...' he stopped himself, looking at Sirius. He decided to omit the details about the mirror. 'And then we were attacked. And then nothing. I...' a horrible thought occurred to him. 'My parents, where are they?'

'They're fine,' Sirius said quickly. 'Really, fine. You guys were attacked by a lot of Death Eaters. Your Dad held them off until help arrived.'

Lily shook her head. 'It's amazing that help knew to come. How did they know what was happening?'

'Luck, I guess,' James mumbled, looking pointedly at Sirius. 'Where are they?'

'They've been talking to the Minister of Magic for a while,' Sirius said.

'The Minister?' James echoed. 'Why?'

'Don't know,' Sirius replied honestly.

'How long have I been out? Where's Remus and Peter?' James asked, trying to stand up off the bed, but Sirius shoved him back down.

'A couple of days,' Sirius said. 'As for Peter and Moon—Loony, they thought they'd try and eavesdrop on what your parents were talking to the Minister about.'

Lily looked scandalized. 'Eavesdrop?' she asked.

'I would have done it myself, but I wasn't about to leave James alone,' Sirius said casually. James felt a swell of affection for his best friend.

'How do you feel?' Lily asked, changing the subject. 'We heard…' she looked at Sirius again. 'We heard they used Unforgiveable Curses on you.'

James screwed up his face trying to remember—it was very foggy, but he remembered intense pain. 'I think you're right,' he muttered.

'What was it like?' Lily asked in a horrified whisper.

James shook his head. 'I can't describe it. It…it was awful. I think I've mostly blocked it.'

'Well thank Merlin for that,' Sirius said. 'You gave me a right scare there, James.'

James grinned. 'I swear, it was purely unintentional,' he said.

Just then, the door opened. Mr. and Mrs. Potter came striding into the room, accompanied by a tall and severe looking witch. She had Remus and Peter trailing behind her, looking sheepish. 'Mum! Dad!' James said.

'You're awake!' Mrs. Potter cried and she gave her son a hug. 'How do you feel? Are you alright? When did you wake up? Can you move everything? Can—'

'Easy, dear,' Mr. Potter said soothingly. 'Give him a chance to breathe.'

'Sorry,' Mrs. Potter said, backing up. 'Hello, Sirius,' she said warmly. 'And who's this? I don't believe we've met?'

'Lily Evans,' Lily said, offering her hand. 'A pleasure to meet you.'

'Oh it's so sweet that you've come to visit James,' Mrs. Potter said, enveloping her in a massive hug. 'I haven't heard your name before—did you just become friends?'

Lily opened her mouth, but James spoke. 'She's been bringing me up to date on all my classes. We share a lot of the same ones.'

'Oh, well that's very sweet of you!' Mrs. Potter said.

'I should go,' Lily muttered. 'Good to see you're up and about, Pott—James,' she said, almost choking on his first name as she turned and sped from the room.

'Hullo, you two!' James said brightly to Remus and Peter, who still looked sheepish.

'Ah, so friends of yours, are they?' said the severe looking witch as she surveyed James from behind a pair of thin glasses. 'I caught them snooping outside the door of our room, trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.'

Mr. Potter chuckled. 'And as I said, Minister, it's quite alright. I'm sure they were just checking on their good friend's parents.'

The Minister did not look entirely convinced, but surveyed James with a small smile. 'My name is Millicent Bagnold, James. I am the Minister for Magic. How are you feeling?'

'Fine,' James lied. In truth, he felt like he had run the whole length of England several times.

'Your parents and I just had a long discussion,' Bagnold said. 'I was rather hoping that your input might be of some assistance. But perhaps, it would be better if this were a bit more private…?' she asked, casting glances at Sirius, Remus and Peter.

'I'd like them to stay,' James said firmly.

Mr. Potter cleared his throat. 'Your mother and I have resigned our positions with the Ministry,' he said.

James' mouth fell open. 'What?' he said.

'A similar reaction to my own,' Bagnold said as she took up a chair.

'We just feel that perhaps we've made ourselves—and you—a bit of a target,' Mrs. Potter said. 'We're not getting any younger, and we feel that stepping back a bit might be the best for all of us.'

Bagnold nodded quickly. 'An admirable sentiment, and we certainly do want the best for all the families under our care,' she said. 'But this is a tenuous time for the Ministry, and losing two such as yourselves…' she said.

'There is no shortage of capable wizards to replace us,' Mr. Potter said firmly. 'I have already given you my recommendation for my replacement in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In fact, he should be here soon to ask us some questions about the attack.

'And Cornelius Fudge is more than capable of handling everything in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes,' Mrs. Potter added. 'We will still help in any way we can in what is to come, Minister—but I think it would be best if our role was more supportive as opposed to prominent.'

Bagnold pursed her lips. 'James? What say you?' she asked.

James was taken aback. 'Er…well, it's like they said…suitable replacements…time with family…'

Bagnold sighed. 'Very well,' she said. 'Crouch should be here soon, and I will inform him that he is replacing you, Mr. Potter,' she said. 'I of course very much regret that it has come to this, and I also regret the attack that befell your family.'

'Nonsense,' Mr. Potter said. 'There's nothing anyone could have done.'

'I'll leave you be,' said Bagnold with a nod to James. 'I hope you feel better soon.'

After she left the room, James looked at his parents. 'You're quitting? Now?'

'James, listen to me,' said Mr. Potter. 'We're not getting any younger, and you're our only child. We don't want to be putting you in harm's way any more than has happened already—and that goes for the rest of you, too,' he said, nodding at Sirius, Remus and Peter. 'If my work at the Ministry makes me a target for Rochefort, then that impacts all of you. I think it's better if we start to settle into retirement.'

'It's their choice, James,' Remus said quietly. 'And after what just happened, I don't think I can blame them…'

This brought a question to mind. 'How did we get away?' James asked.

'Moody,' said Mrs. Potter simply.

'Moody? The Auror?' James asked.

'He was something to see,' Mr. Potter murmured. 'And he's not a very happy camper right now. He arrested four Death Eaters single handed, and he dueled Rochefort, too.'

James gaped. 'No way! What happened?'

'They wounded each other fairly badly,' Mr. Potter sighed. 'A few pounds of flesh apiece. But that's not important right now. I think you should get some more rest.'

'But I've just woken up!' James protested.

Mrs. Potter looked kindly at Sirius. 'You need to allow your friends some rest, too,' she said. 'This one hasn't left your side. Come along, Sirius, you should get some food and some sleep. You too, James,' she added, as Madam Pomfrey made her way over.

'But I've just woken up,' James grumbled again as everyone left the medical wing. 

'On the bright side,' Sirius called from the door with a wink, 'Evans came to see you! That's got to be a good thing! Night!'


	11. Ideas and Eavesdrops

11

Try as he might, James found himself completely unable to sleep. Even when he felt tired, the moment his eyes closed he would have horrible nightmarish visions of Rochefort casting the torture curse upon him, and he would be unable to see, think or feel anything but intense pain. Then he would wake up.

After doing this countless times, when he opened his eyes, he gave a start-Remus, Sirius and Peter were in front of him. All were wearing looks of concern.

'Don't sneak up on me like that!'

'Sorry, mate,' Sirius said as he sat down on the foot of his bed. 'We don't really have a choice but to be sneaky. We nicked your cloak to get up here.'

Remus offered James something. 'Here, eat this, you'll feel much better,' he said shrewdly. James took it and bit it-it was chocolate, and Remus was quite right. It did make him feel somewhat better. 'It's a remedy for various ailments-most commonly against Dementors.'

'Ah,' said James around his mouthful of chocolate.

'Are you alright?' Remus asked quietly.

James nodded. 'Can't sleep,' he murmured.

'Can't or won't?' Peter asked shrewdly.

James sighed. 'Probably a little bit of both. It seems weak to admit it.'

'Nothing about surviving an attack by Death Eaters, and the Cruciatus Curse at that, is weak,' Remus said simply.

'Yeah, don't beat yourself up about it, mate,' Sirius said, clapping James on the leg. 'Feel up for a stroll? We could make our way down to the kitchens?'

James nodded. 'Yeah, let's go.'

*

Sitting in the bright and bustling kitchens did wonders for James' mood. The house elves worked tirelessly and happily to prepare food, and were all too willing to share the fruits of their labour. James had not quite realized how hungry he was until he was here. He ate a half Hickory-roast chicken and topped that off with a set of bangers and mash. Several yorkshire puddings and a generous dollop of gravy later, and he was fit to burst.

Sirius was busy wolfing down his fifth eclaire, having just finished a heaping helping of roast beef himself. Peter was eating very small portions, and was currently gnawing corn off a cob. Remus definitely had the best table manners of the group, as he was neatly slicing his way through a spiral cut ham.

'That hit the spot,' James sighed. Sirius said something unintelligble around his mouthful of eclaire. 'Sorry, what was that?' he asked.

Sirius swallowed. 'I wonder why nobody else comes down here. D'you think we're the only ones that know about it?'

'Certainly possible,' Remus said as he popped another bite of ham into his mouth. 'We probably shouldn't be out too late. We do have class tomorrow.'

'I'm not tired,' Sirius grunted. Peter nodded his agreement as he chewed on his corn. Remus chuckled.

'I don't know how I'm supposed to be a good influence,' Remus sighed.

'You're tired, are you?' Sirius asked, helping himself to another eclaire.

'Not in the least,' Remus said. 'I'm quite used to staying up all night.'

James chewed on this for a moment. 'Sorry, mate,' he said. 'Is there anything we can do?'

Remus smiled faintly. 'I don't think so,' he said. 'Werewolves are a terrible threat to humans. There is no way you could be near me when I transform.'

'Are you only dangerous to humans?' Sirius asked.

Remus nodded. 'Nobody really knows why. Human prey just seems to be what a werewolf craves. You could march a herd of cows right past me, you could even lay out an army of steaks, and I would skip right past them and attack the chef.'

James thought about this for a second. 'Hang on,' he said. 'So what you're saying is that you don't attack other animals?'

Remus nodded as he at more of his ham.

'So all we have to do...is become animals,' James said.

Sirius snorted. 'Yeah. Easy as pie, that is. Right James, go on, turn into an animal. I think an elephant would do you right.'

'Why's that?' James asked.

'They have the biggest heads,' Sirius grinned.

'Well, I think you'd be an emu,' James replied. 'They have the smallest brains.' Peter laughed ecstatically and Remus chuckled as well. 'Seriously, though...we could do it.'

Remus looked skeptical. 'How, exactly?'

'Look at Professor McGonagall,' James said excitedly. 'She can turn into a cat!'

Sirius no longer looked wary. He looked quite interested. 'That's not a bad idea, James,' he said.

Remus looked stern. 'Yes it is,' he said. 'Even if you could master whatever it is that McGonagall does-and I'm assuming it's not easy-it's a terrible risk to take.'

'But you just said you're not dangerous to animals,' Peter pointed out, immediately looking embarassed with himself. 'I mean, not that I'm really for the idea,' he said hastily.

'Come on, Peter, are you a man or a mouse?' Sirius said irritably.

'There are no records of a werewolf attacking another animal, but that doesn't mean it has never happened,' Remus said carefully. 'And I certainly don't want there to be a first time, especially if that first time happens to involve me eating my friends.'

James wasn't about to give up. 'And what if we transform into something as big as you, hm?'

'Yeah,' said Sirius enthusiastically. 'We could be something big-like a rhinoceros.'

Now Remus snorted. 'Except for the fact that I'd be off across the grounds before you could get to your feet, that would be an excellent choice.'

'Well, something faster then,' said Sirius. 'How about a lion?'

'Can we choose the shape we get?' Peter asked interestedly.

James frowned. Come to think of it, he had only ever seen McGonagall turn into a cat. 'I'm not sure,' he said at last. 'We could probably ask McGonagall.'

'Bad idea,' Remus said at once. 'You don't want to give her any reason to be suspicious.'

'What's there to be suspicious of?' Sirius asked innocently.

Remus rolled his eyes. 'Two of the most renowned trouble makers in school who always seem to find their way into that spot between a rock and a hard place, who happen to run around with a werewolf for a best friend-'

'-they don't know that we know that,' James cut in.

'-all of a sudden come up to their teacher asking about how to turn into animals? You don't think that would raise her guard just a little?' Remus asked.

Sirius snapped his fingers. 'I've got it! It goes against every fiber of my being, though,' he said bitterly.

'What's that?' James asked.

'The library,' Sirius said with a shudder. 'We could probably find information on it in there. Come on, Moony, you're always in the library.'

Remus sighed. 'I suppose we could look for things there. It's probably best if I go. If you two asking McGonagall about it would look suspicious, I can only imagine the rumor mongering that would occur if you two were sighted in the library.'

'Excellent,' James said. 'Let's go now!'

'No way!' Peter said instantly. 'Madam Pince never sleeps. I'm sure she'll be there waiting to jump out from behind a bookshelf or something.'

'He has a point,' Remus chuckled. 'There aren't many things in the castle more frightening than Madam Pince.'

'Tomorrow, then,' James relented.

Remus nodded. 'Alright. After class, I'll go to the library and see what I can find. We should really get you back to the hospital wing in case Madam Pomfrey wakes up to do a midnight check.'

But at just that moment, the portrait hole to the kitchen opened again. Peter squealed, and James quickly threw the invisibility cloak over the four of them as they stood and backed into a corner.

'Wow,' came the voice of Alice Dearborn. 'How did you find out about this place?'

'Potter, believe it or not,' said Lily Evans, and James' heart leapt as they both stepped into view. 'I really don't see why it couldn't wait until morning.'

Alice grinned mischievously at Lily. 'Come on, it's Frank's birthday tomorrow and we're not allowed in Hogsmeade until next year-I just want to see if we can get a few treats for him, that's all.'

Lily sighed, looking wary. 'I don't like breaking rules,' she muttered.

'How are we going to get out of here?' hissed Peter.

'Wait until they go to leave,' Remus replied.

Lily sat down only a few feet away from where the four of them stood, huddled under their cloak. 'You like Frank a lot, don't you?' Lily asked.

'Of course I do,' Alice sighed as she sat down, having just asked the elves to make a nice, large chocolate cake. 'Do you think he feels the same?'

Lily snorted. 'Please. If you two were any more attracted to each other, you might somehow morph into one single entity.'

Alice beamed. 'What about you? Fancy anyone?'

James' heart was racing in his chest.

'Not really...' Lily answered. 'Not like you and Frank, anyway.'

'What about...Severus?' Alice asked, a rather ugly look on her face as she said the name. Affection for Alice swelled within James.

'Don't say his name like that,' Lily said haughtily. 'Severus is very nice, and we've been friends for a very long time. But...that's really all I think I want.'

Alice's eyes narrowed. 'You think you want?' she said.

'I don't know how we got onto this topic,' Lily sighed.

'What about James?' Alice asked off handedly.

Lily spluttered. 'Wha-Potter? Are you taking the mickey?'

Sirius stifled laughter. James elbowed him in the ribs.

'I see the way you look at him,' Alice chided.

'WHAT? WHAT WAY? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!' Lily exploded.

'Shhh,' Alice hissed. 'Someone might hear you.'

Lily seethed silently. 'I don't look at Potter in any way,' she whispered angrily.

Alice raised her eyebrows. 'You look at him when he musses his hair all the time. And you're an awful liar. You have an obvious tell.'

'What? What tell?' Lily asked.

'Never played wizard poker, have you?' Alice mused. 'When you lie, your right leg jiggles.'

Sirius was starting to laugh silently again. James and Remus both elbowed him in the ribs.

'I have nothing to lie about,' Lily said angrily.

'I don't know why you're getting so uptight about it,' Alice said. 'He is rather good looking.'

If Lily was spluttering before, she was positively incoherent now. A stream of disconnected words flew from her mouth, not all of them entirely appropriate to a civilized conversation. Sirius began to laugh again, and this time he received elbows from all three of James, Remus and Peter.

'Here you go, miss,' a house elf said to Alice as he handed a large, delicious looking chocolate cake with generous swirls of white icing on top, forming the words 'Happy Birthday Frank! From, Alice' on it.

'Excellent!' Alice said, clapping her hands with glee. 'You're a life saver!' she told the elf, who beamed happily at her. 'Right, let's get back to Gryffindor tower so you can keep denying you look at James.'

'Oh knock it off,' Lily said angrily as they opened the portrait hole.

'Now!' hissed Remus. They quickly moved to get out through the portrait hole after the two girls. The portrait was closing, and nearly shut on Peter's leg. Peter gave a short yelp, and they froze.

Alice and Lily had turned on the spot and were staring at the space where they were. 'What was that?' Lily said.

'Did you close the door on a house elf?' Alice asked worriedly.

The four boys shuffled silently to the side as Lily checked the door and, apparently satisfied that they hadn't accidentally murdered one of the kitchen elves, set off once more.

'Great,' murmured Remus as James mussed his hair happily. 'He'll never leave his hair organized ever again.'

They strolled leisurely back up to the hospital wing where they found it just as they left it. Madam Pomfrey was apparently still asleep in her office.

'The sun will be up soon,' Sirius observed. 'Do you want us to stay?'

James shook his head. 'It's okay,' he said, glancing at his watch where the time told him it was just around five in the morning. 'In a couple of hours I'll be able to get out of bed and come see you.'

'We'll wait for you in the common room,' Sirius said.

'Try and get some sleep,' Remus said in a concerned tone.

'Yes, Madam Pomfrey,' James said sarcastically. 'See you three in a couple of hours.'

The three of them left and James settled into his bed. He didn't mean to, but content with a full stomach and with Alice and Lily's conversation playing over and over in his head, he drifted off to sleep. 


	12. Insomniacs and Awakenings

A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter up. A few weeks ago, a person I worked with was murdered. It left me with no shortage of inspiration for the story, but concentrating enough to get the words onto the page was difficult. I may not update as frequently as I did before, but it is still my intention to complete the story. I apologize again for the delay and hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

12

'Crucio!' came the silky voice that was suddenly filled with unadulterated malice, and James' world was suddenly pain. All conscious thought was eliminated, his mind felt like it had been shattered into a million small fragments, incapable of forming any thought but the reaction to the pain inflicted upon him.

James awoke with a start and realized he was drenched; he had fallen asleep and, in the course of his dreams, had developed a cold sweat. He lay there panting for a moment, and he became aware of a rhythmic thudding sound. It took him a few moments to realize it was the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

He looked around. It was approximately six in the morning...he had only been asleep for one hour. But, he decided, that was more than enough. He quickly gathered his clothes, taking care to be quiet as he neared Madam Pomfrey's office-he could hear her soft snores coming from within. He dressed into his robes and left the hospital wing quietly, almost colliding with someone else in the corridor as he did so-Albus Dumbledore.

'Sorry Professor,' James said meekly.

Dumbledore smiled down at James. 'Nothing to worry about,' he said kindly. 'I was just wondering if I might find someone who would accompany me for a morning stroll through the castle. Would you care to join me?'

Taken aback by the invitation, James nodded and fell into stride with Dumbledore. He found himself being forced to take several steps at a time, as even though Dumbledore strolled at a leisurely pace, his long legs carried him much further than James' did.

'I am assuming that you did not sleep well,' Dumbledore said shrewdly.

'It was fine,' James said a little too quickly.

Dumbledore smiled as he looked out the windows-the sun was just cresting over the mountains on the horizon. 'You have just been through a terrible ordeal, James. It is natural for your mind to wander back to it.'

James said nothing, staring resolutely ahead.

'I understand,' Dumbledore continued slowly, 'that you are having feelings of inadequacy about this.'

James stopped short. 'Did Remus talk to you?'

Dumbledore stopped as well. 'No, your friend would never betray your confidence. But, being rather clever, I have ways of hearing everything that goes on in my school,' he said with a twinkle in his eye. James gulped, wondering if he was inferring anything about their night-time excursion to the kitchens, but Dumbledore pressed no further. His face was suddenly serious. 'James, what you and your family were subjected to was a travesty. In no way whatsoever does this render you weak. Quite the contrary; it is because of the immense strength that you and your family possess that you were targeted in the first place, and it is also the reason that you yourself remain a target.'

'But why?' James asked abruptly. 'Why does Voldemort want me?'

Dumbledore resumed walking and James walked alongside him once more. 'These are difficult times,' Dumbledore said, and James suspected he was choosing his words very carefully. 'He is looking to develop a network of spies and soldiers for his eventual endgame.'

'Which is?' James asked.

'Unknown, we can only guess,' Dumbledore replied.

'And you have a guess,' James pressed.

Dumbledore chuckled. 'Yes, I do have guesses. And they usually turn out to be correct. But now is not the time to divulge in my own theoretical work. What remains important is that we remain constantly vigilant of the attacks we may face.'

James was distantly aware that they were headed once more towards Gryffindor tower. 'How can I be vigilant if they come at me in my own home?' James asked. 'We barely had time to grab our wands.'

'Disturbing,' Dumbledore said darkly. 'But there are steps we can take. I have discussed the matter with your father-your home will be relocated and given more stringent protection, since you have been identified as someone that Voldemort deeply desires to recruit. But, I have another form of protection I would like you to take up.'

James' curiosity was aroused. Some form of defensive magic?

'I understand that you and your father had a discussion about Professor Mondego,' Dumbledore said simply.

James had forgotten this point, but he suddenly remembered the details of that evening before the Death Eaters had attacked. 'Yeah,' James replied. 'They said he was perhaps the most gifted Occlumens of all time.'

Dumbledore nodded. 'Precisely,' he said. 'There are a few students who I am instructing to take up private lessons in that regard with Professor Mondego. Students who, like yourself, may find themselves to be objects of Lord Voldemort's desire. Professor Mondego will be teaching you how to protect your minds from such intrusions.'

James gulped; he wasn't sure he liked the sound of this. 'Is...Professor Mondego the only one who can teach us?' he asked.

Dumbledore smiled. 'I know that he seems rough around the edges, but he is an excellent teacher,' Dumbledore said. 'I am a sufficient Occlumens myself, but Professor Mondego far outstrips me in that regard. He has a truly remarkable talent for it.'

'And that's why Voldemort wants him so badly?'

Dumbledore smiled, but did not answer. 'I think we have arrived,' he said brightly, and James realized they were now outside the portrait hole to the Gryffindor tower. 'James,' Dumbledore said, 'Madam Pomfrey holds many draughts, some of which are remedies for a dreamless sleep. Is this something you might find useful?'

James looked at Dumbledore and then slowly shook his head. 'No,' he said. 'I'm fine.'

Dumbledore surveyed him over the edges of his half-moon spectacles. 'Very well,' he said. 'Then you'd best get inside and start gathering your supplies; classes begin in only a few hours. Thank you for accompanying me for a walk-you were excellent company.'

And with that, he strolled off. James stared after him for a moment and then entered the common room.

*

Sirius was miserable. They sat around the fireplace in the common room. Peter and Remus were stuffing their schoolbags with the appropriate supplies for the day ahead. James stared into the fire, and Sirius was sprawled haphazardly across a couch, drifting in and out of sleep.

'I feel like death,' Sirius mumbled, his face half obscured by a pillow.

'You look like it, too,' Remus said dryly as he finished packing his bag. 'Are we all set for class, then?'

Sirius groaned. 'Leave it to Moony to still have energy to be excited about school,' he groaned.

Remus sniffed. 'If you applied yourself a bit more academically as opposed to reaching new heights of tomfoolery, you might be one of the better students in the school,' he said.

'Sound advice,' said Lily Evans as she strolled over. While her voice was bright, she looked equally as tired as Sirius—James, of course, knew why, but he could hardly bring himself to feel excited. 'Morning, Potter,' Lily said tentatively.

'Hey,' James said quietly.

'You look tired,' Lily said.

James looked at her and suddenly felt somewhat impatient. 'So do you,' he said. 'What kept you up all night?'

Lily's cheeks reddened. 'I—well—that is to say—shut up,' she said and she spun on her heel and stormed off. Sirius lifted his head and chuckled loudly.

'Always the smooth one,' he said with a grin.

James whipped his pillow at Sirius' head. 'Sod off,' he grumbled.

His mood had not improved much, given that they had double Transfiguration to start the day. He was irritable and short tempered. Professor McGonagall was giving him a wide berth and a fair amount of latitude on the day's school work, and James knew it—but that did not make him feel any better. On the contrary, it felt worse.

'Aren't you even going to try to turn that water into wine?' Remus hissed from the other table.

James scowled at Remus and gave his wand a sharp flick and a twist, and the water suddenly turned into wine. Admittedly, even James himself was surprised he had managed this on the first try—it was a decidedly difficult task, and this fact was hammered home by the thunderstruck expression on Remus' face.

'Excellent work, Mr. Potter,' Professor McGonagall said kindly. 'First of the class to achieve it. Take ten points for Gryffindor.'

James nodded glumly and leaned back in his chair. He caught Lily Evans staring at him with an odd expression on her face for a moment, but she quickly turned back to her own glass of water and concentrated on turning it into wine.

Sirius was not far behind James in achieving the task, and Lily completed it next. The Gryffindors were cleaning up shop over the poor Hufflepuffs that they shared the class with. Edgar Bones was grumbling about favoritism from McGonagall as they all left the classroom.

'It's not as if you managed it and she just ignored it,' James said angrily, stunning Edgar and those around them. The two had always been on amicable terms. For a moment, James was certain Edgar was going to pull out his wand—but he mumbled an apology and walked off quietly. The others were all watching James curiously, and he cursed under his breath and stormed off.

'Oi!' Sirius called, running after him. 'Slow down! For the love of—if this is what you're like when you don't get any sleep, then I'm going to have to knock you out every night.'

'Is this a joke to you?' James asked. They were quite alone in a deserted corridor.

Sirius' usually smiling face showed no hint of humor. 'How can you ask me that?' he said.

'Everyone just seems content to just carry on like normal,' James said hotly. 'I can't stand it. I don't how they can just move on like nothing happened.'

'That's not how it is,' Sirius said in a firm tone. 'James, everyone is terrified. What happened to you and your family…it's unheard of. No one knows how to react…they don't know whether to talk to you, comfort you, try and make you laugh, or just leave you the hell alone.'

'How do you know all this? It's just been the first class of the day,' James snapped.

Sirius crossed his arms. 'And in those few hours, you've managed to estrange yourself from the rest of the school. Everyone was already worried about how you would be when you got back, and all you're doing is confirming their fears.'

'It doesn't help with you joking about everything,' James said, but his voice was less hot.

Sirius' face softened. 'I'm sorry. I really am. I wish I knew…I wish I could say something to undo what happened, mate. I wish I could have been there to help.'

James snorted. 'Believe me, you don't.'

Sirius smacked James on the shoulder. 'Believe me, I do,' he said strongly. 'Remember what we said last year? We're brothers. We're family. Your experience is my experience, and your pain is my pain. When I've got you by my side, I feel like I could walk into hell itself and be better off for knowing you're there.'

James' mouth worked silently for a moment. 'I feel the same way,' he said at last. 'I'm sorry. I'm being a prat.'

'You're being human,' Sirius said earnestly. 'You've just been through…well, something awful,' he said with a sigh. 'But look at it this way…it'll just make getting Rochefort all that much better.'

James smiled faintly. 'You think it'll be us?'

'That get Rochefort?' Sirius said. 'I think we have as good a shot as anyone.'

'Dad says we're too young,' James replied.

'So? What does he know?' Sirius replied. At a puzzled look from James, he shrugged. 'Okay, he probably knows a lot. But my point is, he was our age once too.'

James nodded. 'Every great wizard has started out as nothing more than what we are.'

Sirius 'oooo'd'. 'That's profound,' he said with a grin. 'You should write that one down.'

James shoved Sirius' shoulder. 'Shut up,' he said. 'Speaking of brothers…have you heard anything about Regulus lately?'

Sirius' face darkened. 'Ickle Reggie, the perfect son,' he muttered. 'Mother and Father were over the moon, of course, that he got into Slytherin. Made certain to let it be known that at least one of their children was born with his head on right.'

'Your parents are lunatics,' James sighed.

'You don't need to tell me that,' Sirius replied.

James looked at his watch. 'We're late for class,' he observed.

'To hell with it,' Sirius replied. 'We've been too well behaved lately as it is. It's about time we skived off and got up to some mischief.'

James laughed. 'Did you have anything particular in mind?'

Sirius ran a hand through his unruly mop of hair. 'We could always go and make Lucius Malfoy's life miserable,' he said as he waggled his eyebrows.

'Too early in the year,' James said. At Sirius' disappointed facial expression, James clarified. 'We'll definitely get him, mark my words. But as he's Head Boy, he could make our lives…uncomfortable. So we need to save it for the right time.'

'Do I detect a plot unfolding in your scheming little mind?' Sirius said.

'My mind is not little, but it is definitely scheming,' James replied with a grin. 'Let's go and fill in some more of the Marauder's Map. We haven't done that in some time.'

Quidditch Practice that evening was an up and down affair. It felt terrific to get back into the sky and fly around with the wind in his hair. The tempo at the practice was high octane as they flew at breakneck speed around the pitch. All except for Cresswell, that was—his notorious habit of only really showing up when a game that mattered was to be played was on full display as he lazed about the pitch on his broomstick.

'Dammit, Cresswell, at least try to be a good influence on the rookies!' Dorcas was shouting from the goal hoop.

'You'd better be careful, she might put poison in your pumpkin juice one of these days,' James said with a chuckle.

Cresswell looked at him with a grin. 'If she keeps bossing me around like this, I might drink it anyway,' he said to a roar of laughter from James and Frank.

When the practice ended, however, James found himself cornered by Frank and Alice. 'Can I…help you?' James asked.

'We wanted to make sure you were okay,' Alice said.

'If you ever wanted to talk…I mean…well, you know,' Frank said sheepishly. James got the distinct impression that this discussion was Alice's idea. Frank inhaled deeply. 'I know how hard it is to put something like this behind you.'

Now James felt truly uncomfortable. Frank had never offered insight into his feelings about what had happened to him the previous year. 'If you ever want to talk, to be talked to, or just have someone listen…let me know. I owe you.'

'We owe you,' Alice corrected as she corralled Frank's arm.

James seized it as an opportunity to change the subject. 'Are you two…?' he asked.

They suddenly stepped apart, blushing. 'I—well—' Frank stammered.

'I forgot, it's your birthday today, isn't it?' James asked.

Alice's eyes widened and Frank looked surprised. 'How did you know that?' he asked. 'I didn't tell anyone about that.'

'Er…no one?' James asked, looking at Alice without meaning to.

'No…no one,' Frank said.

'I—it's your birthday?' Alice stammered and James felt instantly bad. She clearly had not given him his cake yet.

Frank waved his hands quickly. 'Don't worry, I didn't expect—I didn't want any fuss, that's why I didn't say anything,' he said.

'Oh, of course,' Alice said with an easy smile. 'Well don't worry! Now I know for the future…come on, we should get back to the common room. Can you grab my broom for me?'

Frank nodded and sauntered off. Alice rounded on James.

'How did YOU know it was his birthday?' she asked.

James swallowed. 'I heard it somewhere,' he said.

'Where?' Alice said sharply.

'…I can't recall?' James said hopefully.

Alice looked intensely at him for a moment. 'I'm planning a surprise for him. He doesn't know that I know it's his birthday…I got it from McGonagall,' she added. 'Don't say anything more—I'm not a good actress and I don't want him figuring out what I'm doing.'

Frank returned and he and Alice took off back to the common room. James was alone in the dressing room now. He sighed and rubbed his eyes into his hands—he felt immensely tired.

He awoke with a start—he wasn't sure how much time had passed. For one agonizing moment, he thought he was standing face to face with Gilles Rochefort. Indeed, for that brief second, the light caused one eye of the person in front of him to glint menacingly. But James' spirits were not much improved by who it turned out to be.

'Dear oh dear,' drawled Lucius Malfoy. 'Out after curfew. What shall we do about this?'


	13. Near Misses and Near Kisses

13

James remained exactly where he was. Although he didn't want to admit it to himself, he was still somewhat paralyzed at the thought that he was standing and facing Rochefort once again. Lucius Malfoy barely registered on James' scale, but after a moment, James realized the predicament he found himself in.

Lucius apparently took James' hesitation as a sign of intimidation. 'Well, Potter?' he asked in a silky voice that practically begged him to give cause for usage of a wand, 'Do you have an explanation for being out past curfew?'

'If we're looking for explanations, I'd ask how it is that you know Gilles Rochefort,' said James coldly.

Lucius chuckled. 'Such a wild imagination,' he said, but he was grinning. 'What on earth would give you the notion that I know the man of whom you speak?'

'Because, unlike you, I'm not a complete idiot,' James said coldly.

Lucius smiled, but all signs of amusement were now gone. 'You are exceedingly arrogant,' he said in an icy tone of voice. 'And that seems to have simply inflated with your near escape from the Dark Lord's followers.'

'The Dark Lord, is he?' James said, completely aware that Lucius' wand was in his hand. 'You sound like you revere him. Follow him, even? Fancy yourself a Death Eater? Fancy yourself a servant of Voldemort?'

Lucius bared his teeth. 'You are very foolish to speak his name.'

James laughed. 'Why? It's just a name, isn't it?'

'Just a name,' Lucius chided. 'How little you know, Potter. Living here under Dumbledore's protection...'

'You are in the same place, you hypocrite,' James replied.

'Enough,' Lucius said. 'I understand you had a choice curse placed upon you when the Death Eaters came calling. Tell me, how enjoyable was that? Is it something you would like to repeat?' Lucius was twirling his wand in his hand.

James was slowly reaching his hand into his own robes. 'Try it and I'll crush every bone in your body,' he breathed.

Lucius smiled and stepped closer. 'But you do not have your wand. In fact, you would be quite powerless to stop me.'

'What's going on here?'

Lucius whirled and James let go of a breath he had not realized he was holding. Dorcas Meadowes was standing at the entrance to the dressing room. 'James? You alright?' she asked.

'Fine,' James said, taking the opportunity to close his hand on his wand within his robes.

'What are you doing down here?' Lucius asked Dorcas contemptuously.

Dorcas raised her eyebrows. 'I happen to be a prefect.'

'And I, unlike you, am Head Boy, so I will ask you again. What are you doing down here?'

Dorcas rolled her eyes. 'And you, unlike me, are a prat. So bugger off, you have no right to interrogate anyone.'

'On the contrary,' Lucius said, whipping back to face James. 'I found this young man out in violation of curfew.'

'With my permission,' Dorcas said, and James instantly knew she was lying. 'Someone stole some equipment from our locker room last week, so I asked James to stand watch to see if it would happen again. I have permission from McGonagall. Now would you like to explain what YOU are doing here? Or should I assume that you are the thief?'

Lucius looked uncertain now. 'I was just doing my night time rounds,' he said defensively.

'Out at the Quidditch Pitch?' Dorcas said calmly. 'A fair way from the school hallways. Do I need to ask you to turn out your pockets, or will you simply leave now?'

Lucius flushed. 'Don't tell me what to-'

'I can have McGonagall do it for me,' Dorcas said sweetly.

Lucius seemed on the verge of saying something, but he stormed out the door with another word. Dorcas turned to James with a curious expression. 'What are you doing here?' she hissed.

'I fell asleep,' James said. 'Sorry.'

Dorcas sighed. 'People have been looking for you all over the castle,' she muttered. 'This was the last place I saw you. Come on, we'd better go.'

'Was any of that about stolen equipment true?' James asked.

'No,' Dorcas replied. 'It was the first thing I came up with. I was banking on him being an abject coward and not asking McGonagall,' she finished with a grin.

'Nice improvising,' James complimented.

'Are you alright, Potter?' Dorcas asked.

James looked at her and was taken aback by the concern evident on her face. 'Yeah,' he said quickly. 'Yeah. Everyone's asking me that.'

Dorcas nodded. 'What happened to you has everyone running scared,' she said. 'I can't even imagine…I mean, the Cruciatus Curse…' she trailed off, and James got the impression that she was fishing for what the story was.

'It was horrible,' he summed up, 'but it's nothing I feel like talking about.'

Dorcas nodded. 'If you say so,' she replied. 'That may be what saves you from—oh, but wait, here she comes now,' she whispered.

Professor McGonagall was rushing towards them as they entered the castle, her face looked something akin to a T-Shirt being worn by an abnormally large person. 'Potter,' she hissed, 'where in the world have you been?'

'Sorry, Professor,' James said. 'I…I fell asleep in the locker room.'

McGonagall looked about ready to burst a blood vessel, but in a flash, her face softened back to its normal looks. 'Of course…of course, Potter,' she said in an alarmingly soft voice. 'Come on, let's get you back to the tower so you can get some sleep.'

James looked at Dorcas with a perplexed expression, and was annoyed to see that she was looking back at him with a similar look of concern and sympathy. James sighed as McGonagall lead the way back to the Gryffindor common room. In what felt like no time, James was stepping through the portrait hole where he was met by a roar from Sirius.

'They wouldn't let us out!' Sirius said, whipping around and casting a sharp glance at Argus Filch, who had apparently been assigned to keep a lookout on the Gryffindors. 'Believe me, we wanted to come and look for you,' he added quietly.

'Students out of bed! Students in the—' Filch was beginning.

'Enough,' McGonagall said loudly, holding up a hand. 'Go and see what Peeves is up to, Argus,' she said with a strong hint of irritation in her voice. Filch looked flabbergasted for a moment and then set off to do as she had bidden. 'Good night,' McGonagall said in a quiet voice and she disappeared as well out of the portrait hole.

James felt a hand rap along the back of his neck in a painful manner. 'What—' he demanded, turning around and finding himself face to face with Lily Evans.

'And what do you think you're playing at?' she said in an angry tone.

James' mouth worked for a moment, and then indignation came to his defense. 'And what the hell are you on about?' he asked hotly.

'You had half the school looking for you!' Lily said.

'It wasn't like I meant for it to happen!' James shot back.

Remus was suddenly in between them. 'Let's all just calm down,' he said soothingly. 'I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for James'…er…tardiness, right, James?' he asked.

Now James felt embarrassed. 'I…passed out in the dressing room.'

Lily snorted. 'Great explanation,' she snapped.

James felt a dragon rear in his chest. 'Listen, Evans,' he snarled. 'If you would like to feel your mind being ripped to pieces by the Cruciatus Curse every time you closed your eyes, then maybe we should switch memories and you can sleep for me,' he spat.

Lily looked momentarily stunned and then ashamed. 'James, I—'

'I don't want to hear it,' James barked and he stormed up the stairs to his four poster and hurled himself into it.

'James?' came a voice. For one moment, James half expected it to be Sirius, but he was surprised when Peter opened the curtain to his four poster. 'Are you alright?' he asked.

'No,' James said without meaning to, burying his face in his pillow. 'I feel like I'm losing my mind,' he said.

Peter was silent for a moment. 'Is it because of…the Cruciatus Curse?' he asked.

'I don't know,' James whispered. 'I can't remember much…I can only remember pain.'

Even in the dark, it was easy to see Peter looked pale. 'Can we win, James?' he breathed. 'Against Rochefort and Vol—Voledemort? Is it possible for us to win?'

James looked up from his pillow. 'I don't know,' he replied. 'But I'm willing to die trying. Believe me: Rochefort is going to pay for this. I'm going to be the one who gets him, and when I do…the Cruciatus Curse will be the least of his worries.'

James woke up with a start. He was drenched again in a cold sweat, and Rochefort's voice was echoing in his ears as he sat gathering his bearings in his four poster. He checked his watch and discovered it was only 2:30 in the morning. Once again, he hadn't managed to get much sleep.

He got out of bed and padded out of his dormitory down to the common room. He went and sat in front of the fireplace and nearly jumped when he realized someone else was in the opposite chair—Lily Evans.

'What are you doing awake?' she asked in surprise.

'I couldn't sleep,' James said, ready to get defensive again, when he realized that Lily looked odd. Her eyes were wet and she held a tissue in her hand. She had most certainly been crying. 'And…what are you doing awake?'

'Nothing,' Lily replied icily, and she got up and made to leave.

'Wait,' James said, grabbing her arm. She whirled on him and, for a moment, James was certain that she was going to hit him. But she did nothing apart from stare at him. 'I'm sorry,' James said softly. 'About earlier. I'm not feeling myself.'

Lily's expression softened. 'That much is evident,' she said, and she slowly sunk back into her seat.

James tried his usual, cocky smile. 'We've clearly both got issues…feel like sharing?'

Lily cocked an eyebrow. 'You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine,' she replied.

James sighed and stared at the fire. Without turning his gaze to her, he started to speak. 'It was horrible,' he said in a low voice. 'One minute I felt perfectly safe…I was home. I was with my parents, the most powerful people I'd ever known. My whole life, I'd grown up thinking my Dad was untouchable...a wizard who was capable of being formidable when our lives depended on it. And to start with, I wasn't let down. Dad held his own against I don't know how many Death Eaters…and I thought we were going to be okay. But then, Rochefort intercepted me and my Mom when we were trying to escape. He cursed her and then he…well. You know what curse he put on me.'

Lily said nothing, but she stood from her seat and moved over to sit on the couch next to James. She nodded silently as if to say 'go on'.

'It was like nothing I can describe,' James whispered. 'I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. It was like every bit of me was being subjected to something different…like being drowned, burned alive, electrocuted, stabbed and stretched and more all at the same time,' he went on. 'He kept doing it, again and again until I blacked out. And now, every time I close my eyes, I see it. I hear it. I feel it. And it just keeps happening and there's nothing I can do to stop it.'

He stared into the fire and was aware that Lily was making a noise beside him. He turned to look at her and saw that she had tears in her eyes. 'I'm so sorry,' she whispered.

'Better me than you,' James replied glumly.

'You really believe that?' Lily aksed.

James looked at her, and now managed a full fledged grin. 'Absolutely,' he said.

Lily sighed. She had a funny look on her face again, but she quickly disguised it. 'I don't have anywhere near the same thing,' she said at last. 'It's my sister. We used to be close…really close. But ever since I got my Hogwarts letter she's been…different.'

'Different how?' James asked.

'I don't think I need to bore you with family details,' Lily replied. 'You don't even have siblings.'

James snorted. 'Says you,' he replied. 'Sirius is family. I help him all the time.'

Lily looked at him thoughtfully. 'You do, don't you?' she asked. 'You're the only one he'll talk to about his home life. Sometimes you surprise me.'

'How come?' James asked.

Lily laughed lightly. 'Because just when I've convinced myself that you're a complete idiot, you go and do something absurdly thoughtful and touching, and I have trouble being angry with you.'

'You want to be angry with me?' James goaded.

'Constantly,' Lily replied. 'But like I said…you're not a complete git.'

'Just mostly,' James finished for her.

Lily smiled. 'I wonder about that sometimes, too,' she said.

'Evans,' James said with a smile. 'Are you going soft on me?'

James was suddenly aware of how close they were sitting to each other. He hadn't paid it any mind before, but his pulse was racing, now.

'What if I was?' Lily asked.

'Was what?' James asked distractedly.

'Going soft on you?' Lily replied.

James gulped. They were very close to each other now; she was so close he could feel her breath on his cheek. 'I'd…I'd be glad,' he said in a feeble voice.

'I think I would be too,' she said in a quiet but firm tone.

They were close. Too close. Her nose touched James'.

'What the hell are you doing awake?' came a loud voice from above them. James and Lily snapped apart to see Sirius standing at the top of the stairwell leading to the boys' dormitory. He was wearing a rather impressively small amount of clothing that did not entirely hide his more discreet areas.

'Oh for the love of…don't you have clothes?' James asked loudly.

Sirius snorted. 'For lesser beings,' he said. 'Come on, do I need to repeat what I said earlier about knocking you out? You're grumpy when you don't get any sleep.'

'What are you doing, checking on me every hour?' James asked in an annoyed tone.

'Yes,' Sirius replied unabashedly. 'I'm your brother. It's my job.'

James cast an embarrassed look at Lily, and felt even more flushed when he saw her smiling in an odd fashion—proudly?—at him.

'Can you give us a moment or two…?' James pleaded.

For the first time, Sirius seemed to notice that Lily was there. 'Oh,' he said. His eyes widened. 'Oh!' he said. 'I—well—late—should be—school—tomorrow—homework—sleep—eclaires!' he spun on his heel and whipped back into the dormitory without another word.

'Sorry,' James said.

'Me too,' Lily said breathlessly. 'I should go.'

James felt a lump in his throat. 'You should?' he asked.

Lily looked at him and her eyes were pleading. 'I can't…I can't explain right now,' she said. 'Please understand.'

And with that, she was gone—she moved swiftly up the staircase to the girls' dormitory and left James alone, confused, and sad. 


	14. Holidays and Classes

14

James didn't sleep at all. Despite Sirius waking up every hour on the hour and, more sleepily each time, prodding James to go to bed, he just could not do it. Even if he had been able to force the imagery of Rochefort from his mind, he now had something else weighing heavily on him-what had almost happened with Lily.

'Was she going to kiss me?' he wondered to himself throughout the night. It wasn't until dawn that someone came down the stairs, and James saw Remus.

'Did you get any sleep?' Remus asked as he set his parchment and quills down and began revising the previous day's homework.

James shook his head. 'No,' he said.

Remus looked at him with a calculating expression. 'Still having thoughts about the attack?' he asked.

'Yes...and no,' James replied, and he proceeded to tell Remus everything in a hushed voice. Remus made no movement and showed no signs of surprise, simply letting James talk and finish his story. 'I don't know what it all means,' James said simply at the end.

Remus looked thoughtful. 'I was worried something like this would happen,' he said at last.

'Something like what?' James asked in surprise.

'Is Moony pontificating again?' came Sirius' voice as he and Peter made their way groggily down the stairs.

Remus smiled. 'I have to say, the sight of all of you being awake before anyone else in the dormitory is more than surprising...I think celebrations might be in order.'

Sirius rolled his eyes and flopped down on the couch. 'So what are we talking about?'

'The fact that Lily almost kissed James,' Remus said. Peter's jaw dropped and Sirius suddenly snapped up. 'A moment that, I hear, was interrupted by you, Sirius,' Remus finished.

Sirius flushed. 'I had no idea,' he said in a voice that clearly conveyed regret. 'James, if I'd known-'

James waved a hand. 'Forget it, Sirius,' he said. 'Like you said, you had no idea.'

'So what happened after I left?' Sirius asked eagerly.

'She left too,' James replied.

Sirius looked crestfallen. 'Damn,' he murmured. 'So what does it all mean?'

'That's what Remus was just about to tell me,' James said.

'If I explain it to you, you have to promise not to fly off the handle,' Remus said.

Sirius rolled his eyes again. 'Moony, has anyone ever told you that you just aren't vague enough?'

Remus ignored him and carried on in a patient tone of voice. 'Lily is feeling conflicted about you. If I'm right, I think that she sometimes finds you to be an arrogant, self centered, spoiled, narrow minded, selfish and toughtless prat.'

'Am I blushing?' James asked in monotone as Sirius chuckled.

'But she also sometimes regards you as surprisingly insightful, caring, loyal, compassionate, brave, noble and thoughtful.'

Peter looked confused. 'Aren't a lot of those the opposite of each other?'

Remus nodded. 'Which is a part of the reason why she is likely having trouble figuring out whatever it is that she feels for James.'

'Only part of the reason?' James asked.

Remus looked like he was choosing his words carefully. 'The other part of the reason is much more obvious...it's Severus.'

'Snivelly?' Sirius asked alertly. 'What's he got to do with anything?'

Remus looked at Sirius and continued speaking in a patient voice. 'It's apparent to anyone with eyes that Severus fancies Lily,' he said.

'But she doesn't feel the same way!' Sirius said before James could say anything.

Remus pursed his lips. 'No, I don't think she does,' he said slowly. 'I think that she'd like to...but his activities since arriving at school and his fascination with the Dark Arts would more than likely dispel any interest she may have.'

'So how does that effect me, then?' James asked.

'She still cares for him,' Remus replied. 'And since you and he are always at each other's throats, it would obviously put a great strain on their relationship if she were to publicly show you any affection.'

James digested this for a moment. Peter looked at Remus in awe. 'How do you know all of this?' Peter asked.

'It's guesswork,' Remus said with a shrug.

'It's brilliant,' Peter gushed. 'You really understand girls.'

Remus blushed for a moment. 'It's not hard to understand when you're willing to listen,' he said after a moment.

'So Lily talks to you?' James asked.

'Not about you, no,' Remus said. 'We've heard a few of her conversations together...there's more to what's being said than what is simply coming out of a person's mouth.'

And with that confusing note, they left for class.

*

The next few weeks flashed by in a blur. Any time Lily laid eyes on James, she buried her head and made off in a different direction. James tried to reassure himself with what Remus had said, that she was just having difficulty understanding what she felt for him, but he was getting more and more distraught at her constant avoidance.

His spirits were not helped any when he received an owl from his parents shortly before the Christmas holidays.

'Dear James,

Unfortunately, we are going to have to make arrangements for you to remain at Hogwarts this Christmas. We are still in the process of moving to a new home which is being placed under heavy protection both by us and the Ministry. Rather than risk transporting you here, we feel that staying under Dumbledore's eye will be the best way for you to spend the holiday.

We will try and pop in and visit on Christmas Day.

All our love,

Mom and Dad.'

James sighed as he laid the parchment down. He knew that not a great many people remained at Hogwarts over Christmas holidays.

They seemed to arrive before he was really ready for them. He had not mentioned to anyone that he was staying behind, but the day that the Hogwarts Express was to return to London, he pulled Sirius, Remus and Peter aside.

'Listen guys,' he said. 'I'm not going.'

'What are you talking about?' Sirius barked and James explained quickly.

Sirius dropped his bag. 'Well, then I'm staying too!'

Peter did the same. 'Me too!'

'Peter, your parents would kill you,' Remus observed.

'Oh yeah,' Peter said distantly and retrieved his bag.

'I only mean that we should ask permission. Maybe they'll let us come back right away,' Remus said.

James frowned. 'Don't you guys want to spend Christmas with your families?'

'Haven't we met?' Sirius joked. 'You should know the answer to that question.'

'It was more directed at Remus and Peter,' James pointed out.

'Of course I'd like to,' Remus said, 'but the prospect of leaving you alone at the castle isn't exactly a nice one. I'll see if I can come back.'

'Me too,' Peter chimed in.

And with that, they took off. 'Shouldn't you send an owl to your family?' James asked Sirius as they walked back into the castle.

Sirius snorted. 'No, it will be a teriffic Christmas present. Maybe they'll think I was run over by the train-they'll throw a party to celebrate.'

James shook his head and stopped abruptly. Walking through the great hall was Severus Snape.

'And it just figures that you'd still be here,' Sirius said loudly.

Snape stopped and glared at them. James was suddenly aware that he had barely seen his arch rival since their first Quidditch Match. And not at all outside of classrooms. 'What's the matter, Potter?' Snape sneered. 'Scared to leave the castle?'

'For someone who we kick around so often, you certainly seem to have an overinflated sense of your own importance,' Sirius said savagely, pulling out his wand.

'Better than an overinflated head,' Snape shot back, drawing his own wand.

'Put those away,' came Professor Mondego's voice as he stepped out of the shadows of the great hall. For how long he had been there, James had no idea. But Sirius and Snape obeyed as if they had been struck. 'Such foolish little children,' Mondego scolded. 'Wearing your hearts on your sleeves, proudly boasting your emotions for all to see. It is clear where your intentions and loyalties lie, and these are all weapons that can be used against you in the forthcoming conflict.'

James and Sirius traded a confused look.

'Potter,' Mondego said. 'You are to learn Occlumency with me. Dumbledore's orders.'

'Yes, I know,' James said.

'My office. Tomorrow night. Six o'clock. Don't be late.'

'Okay,' James said.

Mondego turned. 'You too, Mr. Snape.'

'Yes, sir,' Snape said at once.

James grit his teeth. The idea of sharing a class with Snape and Mondego was not an appealing prospect, especially in light of the Remus' insight about his relationship with Lily. Unbidden, James felt a surge of irrational anger. It was suddenly apparent to him that not only did he loathe Severus Snape, he found him to be the slimiest, darkest, foulest person to have ever walked the earth.

'Is there a particular reason you are all still standing here?' Mondego asked, snapping James out of his reverie. He clued in to the fact that neither he, Sirius or Snape had made any motion since his announcement. 'I would imagine you all have some homework to revise, given that you are still at the school over the holidays.'

'Come on, James,' Sirius said, tugging James' arm and they made off towards the Gryffindor tower. When they were out of earshot, Sirius shook his head. 'Occlumency lessons with Mondego and Snape? Does Dumbledore hate you or something?'

James shook his head with a sigh. 'Dumbledore said he would be teaching me and other people who Voldemort may want to target.'

Sirius snorted. 'I don't think he'd have to work too hard to target Snivelly,' he remarked. 'He's practically dying to join up as it is.'

James thought about that for a moment. 'How do you think that works?'

'No idea,' Sirius said. 'Why?'

James contemplated for a moment. Over the past month, he had been asked many times about what exactly had occurred between him and Lucius Malfoy in the dressing room down by the Quidditch Pitch before Dorcas interrupted them. James had always maintained that Lucius was simply being a prat, but the truth was it was far more than that. James harbored a suspicion that Lucius—however conceited and idiotic—was somehow in the know about Rochefort's appearance at the school, and that could only mean he was connected with the Death Eaters.

'Earth to James,' Sirius said. 'What are you thinking about?'

James sighed. 'When Malfoy found me last month, he threatened to put the Cruciatus Curse on me.'

Sirius' eyebrows shot up so fast that they nearly faded into his hairline. 'What? You never told me that!' he said.

'I didn't tell anyone that,' James sighed.

'Well why the hell not? That's a pretty serious thing…it's illegal! You can get a life sentence in Azkaban for it!'

James nodded. 'But what if he was bluffing?'

'Do you think he was?'

James chewed on that for a moment and then shook his head. 'I don't, actually,' he said with another sigh. 'I think that once he's left Hogwarts, he's going to go straight off to join the Death Eaters. I think he knew something about Rochefort showing up at the school.'

Sirius looked thoughtful. 'You could be right…and if Snivelly is close with him, he could be headed down the same road. But then why bother with Occlumency?'

'Maybe Dumbledore wants to try and reign Snape in, keep him from going Dark?' James mused.

Sirius snorted. 'They can have him. The greasy git would probably slow them down.'

The next evening, James headed off to Occlumency with a sense of immense dread in his chest. He arrived in the classroom to find that the desks had been cleared, and Professor Mondego had drawn a large circle on the floor in chalk. The only light in the room was provided by candlelight. Snape was already there, standing on the outer edge of the circle and looking at James with a contemptuous expression.

'Potter, you are very nearly late,' Mondego said in a bored tone.

'Sorry, Professor,' James said.

'Something else occupying your time?' Mondego asked.

James shook his head. 'No,' he said, leaving unspoken the fact that he would rather have been anywhere in the castle but here at this present moment.

'Believe me, Potter, I find the situation no more enjoyable than you do,' Mondego said as if he had read James' mind, and James mentally kicked himself. Of course he could read his mind. 'No, I can't,' Mondego said irritably. 'The mind is not a book to be read one's leisure. It is complex, ever changing and moving at incredible speed. However, with careful practice, the mind can be slowed and looked at as if it were a painting, and observations can be drawn from it. Now, stand in the circle, please.'

'Me? Or Snape?' James asked.

'We'll start with you,' Mondego said. 'And Severus. He has been here for an hour or so already; I feel it would be a little bit of a mismatch for you to try and defend yourself against me on your first try, given the great disparity in our mental gifts…so I thought I would let you and Severus test this out.'

James gulped. This was sounding worse and worse.

'Severus will be using the Legilimens spell against you,' Mondego continued. 'This is a spell which forces its way into your mind and forces it to reveal your deepest and darkest secrets…it is a spell that would put Veritaserum to shame. However, this spell can be deflected with practice, and that is the aim of these lessons. I will be teaching you to hide the things that you wish to remain hidden, and reveal only what you wish your attacker to know.'

'But you haven't taught me anything yet,' James said worriedly. 'How am I supposed to keep Snape out of my head?' He tried to ignore the vicious grin that Snape had on his face. He was nearly shaking in anticipation.

Mondego waved a hand dismissively. 'The first step is to observe what one's natural defenses are. Like most kinds of magic, there are some who will posses a propensity for the skill. However, there will also some that will be woefully inadequate at it…and then there's the wide space in between. I think it is important for us to establish just where on the spectrum you fall.'

Mondego stepped back out of the circle and allowed Snape and James to have the floor. James felt naked—his wand was not in his hand whereas Snape held his directly pointed at him. He felt completely defenseless. 'Now,' Mondego said. 'Begin.'

'Legilimens!' Snape shouted before James was really ready, and suddenly he was in a fog. He was back on the Hogwarts Express on the first day of his first year, meeting Sirius, Remus and Peter, fighting with Snape…

…now he was dodging the branches of the Whomping Willow in an attempt to reach the tree—

'Enough!' James bellowed and suddenly the room snapped back into focus. Snape had staggered back several steps and he looked at Mondego with a confused expression. James cast his own gaze to Mondego and saw his face was impassive.

'Impressive,' Mondego said begrudgingly. 'That did not take long at all. You were able to push him back out of your mind…you did it in a very obvious fashion, of course. Were the Dark Lord to be questioning you, your attempt to withhold the information would be readily apparent and he would switch to other forms of persuasion…the Cruciatus Curse comes to mind,' he said coldly.

'So you're saying what? That I'm good or bad?' James said impatiently.

'Don't try to paint everything into absolutes,' Mondego drawled. 'You are neither excellent at it nor are you terrible at it. But let's try a different track…Severus, I would like you to focus on one thing you would like to extract from Potter's mind. Potter, when your thoughts start drifting towards this subject, I would like you to do your best to focus your mind onto something else. Preferably without revealing so verbally or physically.'

James was utterly confused. 'How am I supposed to do that?'

'Do not think about it, simply react,' Mondego said cryptically.

'Legilimens!' Snape shouted once more.

James had suspected where Snape would go with this, and he wasn't wrong. He remembered his fight with Lily from their first year, the night that they encountered Rochefort and lost Professor Bowen, Lily telling him on Platform 9 and ¾ that he wasn't a complete git, seeing her at Quidditch trials—

-and then, he could see Snape through all the memories, standing in front of him, looking at him with intense concentration evident on his face. James focused all of his thoughts on Snape and brought himself completely and wholly back into the room, staring at him and breathing evenly as he did so.

'Enough,' Mondego said and Snape lowered his wand, looking furious. 'Elegantly done, Potter. I think that is enough for today.'

James frowned. 'But what about Snape?' he asked.

'Severus will get his turn to defend his mind,' Mondego said. 'But for now, I think you have both demonstrated enough to begin with. I will need to evaluate where to go from here. You are dismissed.'

James left quickly, but was aware that Snape was following him. 'I told you to leave Lily alone,' he snarled.

James whirled around. 'What I do—and what she does—is none of your business,' he snapped.

'Wrong again, Potter,' Snape snarled. 'Lily Evans is my business, and I won't stand idly by while you trick her into thinking you're some wonderful person.'

'As opposed to who?' James asked. 'You? You know she despises the Dark Arts and yet you keep delving into them. You claim to care about her, but you take part in the things she hates the most.'

Snape flushed. 'Don't talk about things you know nothing about,' he spat.

'Take your own advice then, and stop trying to boss us around,' James shot back and he started to walk again.

'I'm warning you, Potter—leave her alone. I'll know if you haven't.'

James turned slowly. 'What? Going to use Legilimency on me? I knew you would start rooting around for something about me and Lily. Well guess what—you can go right ahead and try. Because you're never getting another sniff of any moment we've had every again. That's for my eyes…and enjoyment…only,' he said, letting the words sink in. He saw Snape's face contort angrily and knew his words had struck home. 'See you, Snivelly,' he said and he stepped off down the corridor once more, leaving Snape fuming angrily behind him.


	15. Fistfights and Animagi

15

It only took a few days before Remus and Peter were able to rejoin James and Sirius at the castle. The castle being mostly deserted allowed for countless hours of plotting their map.

'We should give it a name,' Sirius observed one day. 'Calling it 'the map' just seems...unworthy.'

Remus looked thoughtful. 'It is an incredibly nice piece of magic,' he observed. 'What do you propose we call it?'

'A Mischief Maker's Guide to Hogwarts?' Sirius suggested.

James snorted. 'I thought if it fell into the wrong hands, we didn't want anyone knowing what it was?'

'Oh yeah...' Sirius trailed off.

Peter cleared his throat. 'What about the 'Marauders' Map'?' he said timidly. Sirius raised his eyebrows at him. 'Sorry, it's a stupid idea,' Peter said quickly.

'That's not what I was thinking,' Sirius said. 'That's actually a pretty good idea, Peter...I like it.'

'Definitely has a nice ring to it,' Remus chimed in.

James nodded. 'A signature stamp, to be sure. Alright-the Marauders' Map it is.'

'Anything interesting on it today?' Sirius asked as James opened it, murmuring that he solemnly swore that he was up to no good as he did so. 'Who else is even in the castle?'

James frowned, staring down at the map as he did so. 'That can't be right...' he whispered.

'What is it?' Remus asked, without looking up from the book he was reading as they were walking down the corridor.

'There's a bit of a crowd in Dumbledore's office.'

Sirius stopped and looked over James' shoulder. 'Who's in the crowd?'

James looked up. 'Among others-the Minister for Magic, Madam Pomfrey...and Lily Evans.'

*

The sprint from the hallway they had been traversing in the dungeons up to Dumbledore's office seemed to take an eternity. All four of them were out of breath by the time they arrived in front of the Gargoyle, and James now confessed himself completely unsure of what to say.

'Fizzing whizbee?' he asked hopefully, but the gargoyle shook its head. 'Sherbert lemon?'

'Dumbledore?' Peter asked.

'Eclaire?' Sirius panted.

'What on earth are you four doing?' came the voice of Minerva McGonagall as she strode up behind them.

James wasn't sure what to say. 'We heard...we heard something happened,' he panted.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. 'Something happened,' she repeated. 'And where and how would you have heard that?'

'One of the portraits,' Remus lied easily, and James and Sirius looked at him in surprise. 'Said that someone had been brought to Dumbledore's office.'

McGonagall looked momentarily surprised and then nodded. 'Well, you are her classmates...follow me.' She led them away from Dumbledore's office.

'Where are we going?' James asked.

'To the hospital wing, Potter,' McGonagall replied stiffly. 'Tell me, how much did the portraits say?'

Sirius looked at James and nodded as if to egg him on. 'Just that a student was brought into Dumbledore's office...' James trailed off.

McGonagall sighed as they took a moving staircase together. 'Yes,' she murmured. 'There's been another attack. Lily Evans' family.'

James felt his blood run cold. 'Is everyone alright?' he croaked.

McGonagall turned and smiled thinly. 'Yes, everyone is fine. We had received a tip that they would be targeted, and the Aurors were waiting in force.'

'So what happened?' Sirius asked eagerly. 'Was it Rochefort? Did they get him?'

McGonagall sighed. 'The things you students know,' she muttered. 'Yes, it was Rochefort...but no, they did not 'get him',' she replied. They had now arrived at the hospital wing. 'Now, I am not sure whether or not it is prudent for all four of you to visit Ms. Evans at once...as I said, she is alright, but she is understandably shaken.'

'James should go,' Remus said at once. Peter nodded vigorously and Sirius gestured for James to go in.

'Very well, Potter. In you go.'

James stepped into the hospital wing and quickly understood why McGonagall was hesitant to allow visitors-the room was filled with people. Lily was not the only person in a bed-there were several people, who James could only assume were Aurors, lying in other beds. One bed was sectioned off behind a bizarre wall of blue fire, and was guarded by several other Aurors-it appeared that a Death Eater had been captured.

James instantly recognized Alastor Moody as one of the guards. It seemed that every time James saw him, he looked more injured and disfigured. In his animated talking with another person-Minister Bagnold, James realized-James could see he had lost several teeth, and he had several deep gouges on his face and burn marks on his bared forearms.

'Potter?' came Lily's surprised voice from the other side of the room and James remembered suddenly why he was there. He quickly jogged over to her side and pulled up a chair. 'What are you doing here?' Lily asked.

'Checking on you,' James replied. 'Are you alright?'

Lily waved a hand. 'I'm fine, I think. Madam Pomfrey won't let me off of this stupid bed though,' she said through gritted teeth. 'And I don't know where my parents and my sister have gone.'

'They aren't here?' James asked, looking around.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'My sister wouldn't have dreamed of it...the second the Minister suggested it, she threw a fit.' Her eyes looked distant for a moment at the memory. 'How did you know I was here?' she asked.

'Portraits,' James said at once. 'They're a talkative bunch. We heard them talking.'

'We?' Lily echoed.

'Me, Sirius, Remus and Peter,' James said.

Lily smiled. 'Of course, it figures they would be here with you too,' she said. 'Why aren't they in here by my sickbed?'

'McGonagall thinks it's a little crowded,' James replied and he was relieved to see Lily grin. It suddenly struck him that this was the first conversation they had had since the night by the fire. 'Evans...' he began.

Lily held up a hand. 'Don't,' she said. 'I can't talk about it. Not now.'

James nodded. 'Did they hurt you? What happened?'

Lily sighed. 'It was all so fast...we didn't have any warning, but I guess the Ministry did. One moment they were breaking down our door, and the next, a group of Aurors just appeared-literally, appeared-in our front hall, and then there was a massive fight. That one-' she pointed at Alastor Moody, '-dragged us to the fireplace and put us through the Floo Network to the Minister. She organized for me to come here, and she wanted my family to come too, but Petunia-my sister-wouldn't have any of it, so she sent them somewhere else. But Potter...I saw him.'

There was no mistaking who she was talking about. 'Rochefort,' James said. She nodded. 'Did he say anything?'

'Barely,' Lily said. 'He said something about an audience with the Dark Lord right before the Aurors showed up...isn't that what he said to you?'

James nodded.

'What does it mean?' Lily asked.

James sighed. 'Probably the same thing it means for me,' he said slowly. 'That for whatever reason, Voldemort wants to recruit you, too.'

Lily looked pale. 'But why? I'm a muggle born...doesn't he hate muggle borns?'

'Dumbledore said something about spies being useful...maybe he has a use even for muggle borns,' he said thoughtfully. 'Not that that matters to me-his loss if he doesn't realize muggle borns are just as good as purebloods.'

Lily smiled faintly. 'Mr. Potter?' came the voice of Millicent Bagnold and James turned to see the Minister there. 'Pleasure to see you again...how are your parents?'

'Fine,' James replied. 'Setting up their new house.'

Bagnold nodded. 'I'm going to need to ask Ms. Evans some questions,' she said.

The door suddenly burst open and Severus Snape came running into the room. He looked like an absurdly sized bat with his cloak billowing behind him. He was deathly pale. 'Lily!' he said.

'Visiting time is over,' Bagnold said severely.

'No, it's alright-' Lily said from her bed.

'I insist,' said the Minister with narrowing eyes. 'We need to discuss the matter while the incident is still fresh in your mind. You have already had one visitor, and that is quite enough.'

Snape noticed James for the first time and anger contorted his face.

'You may wait outside and speak with her when I am finished,' Bagnold said simply.

'Sev, I'm sorry-' Lily began, but Snape had turned and stormed out of the room. James grimaced at Lily and followed.

Snape hadn't gone far; he was waiting in the corridor. James observed quickly that McGonagall, Sirius, Remus and Peter had disappeared. They were quite alone.

Snape's wand was in his hand and shooting sparks. 'So,' he hissed. 'You get to rush to her bedside and hog her while I'm forced to wait like some stranger?'

James rolled his eyes. 'It wasn't like that, Snape.'

'Well then what WAS it like?' Snape hissed angrily. 'I told you to stay away from her! She doesn't want anything to do with you and your lot!'

'I think she can decide that for herself,' James answered back. 'I'm not stopping you from going back in there, and neither is she-this little person called the Minister for Magic is doing that! This is not my fault!'

'But you got to see her!' Snape snarled.

'It's not my fault that I heard about it before you did, either,' James said in exasperation. 'If you're too slow or dimwitted, it's not exactly my problem!'

Snape pointed his wand at James, who raised his own. 'I know magic you can only dream of,' Snape said in a deadly tone.

'Right,' James said, a blue spark shooting from the end of his own wand as anger surged through him. 'Picked up a few things from your protector Malfoy, have you?' he taunted. 'Fancy yourself a Death Eater in the making? I bet you wish you were in on the attack on Lily's family, don't you?'

'How DARE you-' Snape shouted, and he raised his wand but stopped suddenly at a sight from behind James. James whirled around to see Dumbledore standing there, an unreadable expression upon his face.

'What is going on?' Dumbledore said after a moment.

James lowered his wand. 'We were having a discussion,' he said.

'That much is evident,' Dumbledore said, narrowing his eyes at Snape whose wand was still raised. Snape lowered it quickly under Dumbledore's gaze, as if he had been doused in scalding water. 'I beg of you two to remember the school rules...the use of magic in the corridors is expressly forbidden. Am I understood?'

'Yes, sir,' James and Snape said at once.

Dumbledore observed the two of them. 'I think it would do you both a bit of good to realize that neither of you are the only ones who care for Ms. Evans. Now, go back to your dormitories.'

Dumbledore stood and waited as James and Snape left down the hall. They arrived in the Great Hall where they should have split off in their separate directions when Snape turned. He caught James off guard-he reared back and threw his fist across James' chin, catching him off balance and sending him crashing to the ground.

'You-IDIOT-' James spat as he saw a drop of blood fall from his mouth onto the ground. 'Didn't you just hear Dumbledore?'

He looked at Snape who had rolled up the sleeves of his robe. 'I did,' he said angrily. 'The use of MAGIC in the corridors is expressly forbidden.'

James' eyes narrowed and he stood up, removed his glasses, and placed them on a ledge. He rolled up his sleeves. 'Well, come on then,' he gestured to Snape.

Snape rushed at him and took a swing with his left fist. James' Quidditch reflexes came to his defense as he dodged the punch. He reached out with his right hand to grab a hold of Snape's robes, but Snape quickly elbowed him in the forearm. James grimaced in pain as Snape's knee came up into his torso, momentarily winding him. James braced his feet against the ground and lifted himself up into Snape's armpit, lifting the latter from the ground and then he propelled himself forward, sending them both crashing to the floor with Snape on the bottom and James on top.

Snape's fist lashed out and grazed James' ear. James reared back and slammed his fist across Snape's nose with a satisfying crunch. Snape yowled in pain and his hands reached out and grabbed the neck of James' robes. James felt a momentary thrill of weightlessness as Snape flipped him up over top of him, and he crashed to the ground. James turned the crash into a roll and leapt to his feet just in time to see Snape charge at him. Snape hit him in the midsection and carried him backwards into a wall. James managed to get Snape into a headlock and hammered at Snape's unprotected back with his other fist as hard as he could. He then hauled himself backwards to the floor, maintaining his headlock on Snape as best as he could. Snape was ramming his fist into James' stomach.

Snape reached out a hand and grabbed a fistful of James' hair. James yelled in fury and did the same-they laid there on the floor, yanking on each other's hair, yelling and cursing until suddenly they were pulled apart.

James was lifted bodily into the air and found himself hanging several feet off the ground. Snape found himself in the same predicament a few feet away. James looked up into the face of a surprised and impatient looking Rubeus Hagrid.

'Wha' the ruddy hell d'ya think yer doin'?' Hagrid roared. 'Fightin' in the halls...what would Dumbledore say?'

'He said no magic in the corridors,' Snape said, and he flashed his foot out at James who reached out to punch back at him.

'That's enough!' Hagrid roared. 'Potter! Back to your dormitory. Snape, you're coming with me.' He turned and looked at James as he set him down. 'I mean it, Potter. If you go anywhere but back to your dormitory, I'll take this straight to Professor Dumbledore!'

James turned and stormed off, grabbing his glasses as he did so. He could hear Snape protesting against Hagrid's grip the whole way back to his dormitory. He stormed through the portrait hole and nearly collided with something big and invisible. He fell back and cracked his shoulder on the portrait hole, causing him to yell in pain.

'James-sorry!' came Sirius' voice and an invisibility cloak fell to the floor, revealing Sirius, Remus and Peter standing there. 'We were just coming to see...but what's happened?' Sirius said sharply once he took in James' face.

'Snape,' James growled as he got to his feet.

'Snape what?' Remus asked in surprise as James made his way over to the fire.

'Started a fight with me,' James growled as he sat down heavily in a chair.

'Why?' Peter asked.

James snorted. 'Because I got to see Lily and he didn't,' he said angrily. 'He waited until the teachers were out of sight and he sucker punched me.'

'That greasy little...did you get him back?' Sirius asked eagerly.

James nodded. 'We fought. Hagrid stopped us.'

Sirius whistled. 'Bad luck, James,' he muttered.

'Is Lily okay?' Remus asked.

James nodded. 'She should be fine,' he replied. 'Of course, once little Snivelly runs to her and tells her some fairy tale about our fight, she'll probably go back to not talking to me.'

Remus looked concerned. 'You don't know that,' he said.

'Come on, Moony,' James sighed. 'When has she ever taken my side? She believes everything he tells her.'

'We believe you, mate,' Sirius said with a bracing smile.

James sighed. 'I know,' he muttered. 'It would be nice if just once in a while something good would happen around here.'

Remus looked at Peter who nodded encouragingly. 'Well, I might have something of interest,' he said after a moment. At quizzical looks from James and Sirius, he pulled out the book he had been buried in earlier in the day. 'You wanted me to find out how it is that McGonagall turns into an animal? I found the answer: she's called an Animagus.'

'That sounds impressive,' Sirius said.

'It is,' Remus said earnestly. 'It's not a common gift. There are some immensely talented wizards who haven't been able to pull it off. The problem is that you have to wait until you're of age to attempt to register-seventeen years old,' he added for clarity.

'That doesn't sound like good news, it won't help us at all if we can't do it until we're ready to graduate,' Sirius said in a downcast tone.

James stood up. 'Who says we need to register?'

Remus looked scandalized. 'It's against the law not to register,' he said.

'Why?' James replied.

'Think of all the things an unregistered Animagus could do...the potential for lawbreaking would be enormous.'

'And you think we'd break the law?' Sirius asked.

Remus rolled his eyes. 'You two are the most notorious troublemakers in the school. I am not entirely convinced that your intentions would always be benign.'

'Moony, we'd be trying to do this to help you,' James said.

'I don't want my friends breaking the law simply to help me! I've been dealing with this for my whole life...I'm fine.'

James looked at Sirius who reached over and cuffed Remus in the head. 'That's enough of that,' Sirius said sternly. 'Marauders always have each other's back. The Marauder Code takes priority over the law.'

'That's idiotic,' Remus said hotly.

'Is it?' James asked. 'Do you agree with all the laws about werewolves? Halfbreeds, you said they called you?'

'Well, no-' Remus said.

'So then, we can say that we disagree that the law about Animaguses-'

'-animagi,' Remus corrected.

'-animagi, then, is fair. We should be able to become Animagi so we can help a friend in need.'

Remus looked at Sirius and James who both looked determined. He looked pleadingly at Peter for assistance, but Peter seemed to wilt under the fierce gazes from the other two. 'I think James and Sirius are right,' he mumbled.

Remus sighed. 'Fine,' he said. 'Fine! Break the law, see if I care. But it's incredibly difficult. Like I said, some immensely talented wizards haven't even been able to do it.'

James grabbed the book Remus had been holding. 'Well, they hadn't met us when they wrote this book.' He opened to the front page and tried not to let his jaw drop over how complicated the writing was. 'This might take a while,' he said in a steady tone.

'That's alright,' Sirius said. 'We've got loads of time.' 


	16. Stories and Tardiness

16

James did his best to lay low for the next few days. He was anticipating Lily  
>being furious with him and thus tried to exit the room in as quick a fashion as<br>possible whenever he saw her coming in. 'I don't understand,' Remus complained  
>one day as they exited through the portrait hole when she was emerging from the<br>girls' dormitory. 'For all we know, she isn't even mad at you. Why are you  
>avoiding her?'<p>

'Protecting myself,' James muttered as they walked along the hallway.

'Pre-emptive self defense doesn't seem all that wise here,' Remus pointed it  
>out.<p>

'I see the point,' Peter chimed in. 'Why bother getting yelled at?'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'You three are hopeless,' he muttered.

Students were starting to arrive back after the holidays. Alice arrived a full  
>two days before Frank returned from being with his mother, and she was clearly<br>going a little stir crazy over having not seen him for so long. James  
>momentarily pondered the idea of trying to find another set of magic mirrors<br>for them.

'I got him a Christmas present,' she gushed to James one day at lunch and she  
>showed him a book-'Quidditch Through the Ages, Volume Four Hundred and Ninety<br>Two'. 'Do you think he'll like it?' she asked.

James nodded absently as he poked at his food with his fork. He hadn't had much  
>of an appetite since his scuffle with Snape. Almost on cue, Alice seemed to<br>notice him clearly for the first time. 'What's happened to you?' she asked.

'What are you talking about?' James mumbled.

'Your lip is a bit swollen...and split...and you have a bruise on your chin,'  
>Alice observed.<p>

James sighed. 'I had a fight with Snape.'

Alice raised her eyebrows. 'Lily's friend? Why?'

'Lily,' James said simply.

'Oooooh,' Alice crooned and James grimaced. 'I haven't really gotten a chance  
>to talk to Lily yet today. What happened? Is she alright?'<p>

James shrugged. 'You should ask her...I haven't talked to her since she first  
>got here.'<p>

'Well why not?' Alice asked.

'Because I'm tired of being the bad guy,' James said. 'I'm not feeling like  
>being blamed for fighting Snape right now.'<p>

Alice looked perplexed. 'Is she blaming you?' she asked.

'She usually does,' James said impertinently. 'And I'm not going to give her  
>the chance this time.'<p>

Alice chewed on that for a moment and then shrugged. 'Well, that sounds kind of  
>silly to me. But it's your funeral, I guess. I'm going to go and see how she's<br>doing.'

James watched her bounce off to the other end of the table to see Lily and  
>stared down at his plate.<p>

'I must say, your taste in women leaves something to be desired,' came the  
>drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy. James looked up from his plate to see the<br>silver haired seventh year standing there, with Snape and Regulus Black on his  
>flanks. 'Mudbloods...really. What filth.'<p>

James stood slowly. 'I gather you'd be an expert on filth, Malfoy,' he said  
>quietly.<p>

Lucius grinned. 'Temper, Potter,' he chided. 'I heard that the object of your  
>affection had a little visit over the holidays.'<p>

James' eyes flashed, but he hesitated. He saw Snape was now glaring angrily at  
>Lucius.<p>

'It would do you well to consider your loyalties,' Lucius said. 'School doesn't  
>last forever, and real life is what is awaiting you out there. There's a storm<br>brewing, and soon we will all have to choose sides.'

James snorted. 'Do you listen to yourself when you talk? Or do you just kind of  
>drift in and out?'<p>

Lucius flushed. 'I'm trying to give you a warning,' he snarled.

'Temper, Malfoy,' James chided in an expert imitation of Lucius' voice. James  
>was aware that Sirius was making his way down the table to join him, with Remus<br>and Peter in tow.

'I don't know what anyone sees in you,' Malfoy snarled. 'Or why certain people  
>are requesting an audience with you. You're an arrogant, foolhardy young brat<br>and you are headed for a very sticky end indeed.'

James smiled coldly. 'Be that as it may, at least I'm not a total prat. Tell  
>me, are you able to sit down properly on a toilet yet? Being dropped from the<br>Astronomy Tower by your underwear must have hurt.'

Sirius barked with laughter and Lucius' hand twitched towards his wand, but  
>Professor McGonagall approached. 'Is there a problem?' she asked, looking<br>between the two sides. Malfoy said nothing, but turned and stumped off. Snape  
>stood there for a moment as McGonagall moved along.<p>

'Well Snivelly?' James taunted. 'You claim to care about Lily so much, and  
>you're just going to stand there and let Malfoy call her a mudblood?'<p>

Snape turned red. 'Shut up, Potter,' he snarled, and then he too stormed off.

*

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were just leaving the lunch hall when a  
>long-fingered hand closed on James' shoulder. He turned to find himself looking<br>into the face of Professor Mondego. 'Next class is tomorrow night at 6  
>o'clock,' he said slowly. 'Pettigrew, you are to attend as well.'<p>

The other three looked at Peter in surprise. Peter looked terrified. 'Why me?'  
>he squeaked.<p>

Mondego's lip curled. 'Because I said so,' he said in a biting tone. '6  
>o'clock, my class room tomorrow. Do not be late.'<p>

Mondego stalked off and James looked back in surprise again at Peter.  
>'Dumbledore must want you to learn Occlumency too,' James said.<p>

'But why?' Peter wondered.

'Dumbledore is sending the students who he feels may be targeted by this Lord  
>Voldemort,' Remus observed. 'Maybe he thinks you are someone he covets?'<p>

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Nice going, Moony,' he murmured as Peter whimpered.  
>'He's probably going to wet the bed tonight, now.'<p>

'I am not!' Peter replied in a scandalized voice, but he did look decidedly  
>frightened at the thought of Voldemort wanting anything to do with him.<p>

'You know, it raises an interesting question,' Sirius said thoughtfully. 'Do we  
>really know anything about this Voldemort character?'<p>

James frowned. Come to think of it, they really hadn't been told a great deal  
>more than his name. And, of course, the fact that he was generally regarded as<br>very bad news.

'In all of your trips to the library, have you seen mention of him?' Sirius  
>asked Remus who looked surprised.<p>

'Well, no,' Remus replied with a frown.

Sirius paused. 'Well,' he said. 'If this Voldemort character is out to get some  
>of our friends, I think we ought to know as much about him as possible.'<p>

'That's a good idea,' James added. 'Where would we start?'

'Dumbledore?' Peter asked hopefully.

James shook his head. 'He seems to be trying to keep a few things  
>private...maybe he thinks Voldemort has spies inside the school?'<p>

'I suppose it's possible...look what they did to Professor Bowen last year,'  
>Remus replied darkly. 'McGonagall might know something...she's been here for a<br>few years.'

'Professor Binns and Professor Slughorn are the longest serving members on  
>staff,' Peter suggested.<p>

James had an idea. 'It's not just a matter of who we could ask...but who would  
>actually answer us,' he said slowly. At confused looks from Remus, Sirius and<br>Peter, James turned to face them with a slightly embarrassed expression. 'Anyone  
>know how long Hagrid's been at Hogwarts?'<p>

*

The walk to Hagrid's hut was made difficult by the large quantities of snow  
>still on the school grounds. Peter, the shortest of the group, had the most<br>trouble pulling his legs out of the thick snow as they moved along. A thin  
>wisp of smoke coiled up and into the sky from the chimney of the small hut.<p>

James knocked on the door which opened almost immediately. Hagrid looked  
>shocked but pleased to see his visitors. 'Well! Happy Christmas to ya. I hope<br>yeh haven' been gettin' into anymore fights now, have yeh?' Hagrid asked.

'No, once a month is good enough for me,' James said dryly.

Hagrid frowned as he grabbed a tray of what looked to be small boulders from  
>his stove. 'Wha' were you two even fightin' abou'?'<p>

'Long story,' James said as Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively.

'Be tha' as it may, yeh shouldn' be fightin' in the school. Dumbledore would be  
>right furious if he found out.' He offered the strange boulder like objects to<br>James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. 'Rock cakes!' he said happily. 'Go on, try 'em!'

James sank his teeth into one-or rather he tried to. The name 'rock' cake  
>appeared to be quite literal. James rather thought he had just chipped a tooth.<br>Judging by the expressions of his friends, they were having similar difficulty.

'Well, they're not for everyone,' Hagrid said with a sigh as he crunched one  
>himself. 'So what brings you down to my house?'<p>

James looked at the others who all looked back at him; he sighed. Apparently,  
>he was the spokesperson. 'We wanted to know what you know about Voldemort,'<br>James said evenly.

Hagrid slopped some of his tea down his chin. 'Merlin's beard, Potter,' he  
>grumbled as he wiped his face. 'Have a care with that name.'<p>

'Why? Dumbledore says it,' James replied.

'Well, tha's Dumbledore,' Hagrid said gruffly. 'And I don' think he'd  
>appreciate me talkin' to you about...well...you know who.'<p>

'But you do know things?' James asked.

Hagrid sighed. 'Look, there are plenty of things anyone can figure out. Like  
>that he was a kid once, and he went to school.'<p>

'So he went to Hogwarts?' Sirius asked.

Hagrid suddenly looked profoundly uncomfortable, and a slightly dark look  
>crossed his face. 'Yes,' he said in a mixture of a mumble and a growl.<p>

James was slightly taken aback. 'What was he like at school?'

Hagrid snorted. 'Not many who knew him then thought he'd become what he is  
>now,' he said. 'Not many except those who knew better,' he added in an<br>undertone.

'Hagrid,' Remus said slowly, 'did you know him?'

Hagrid gazed out his window for a moment and then nodded. 'I did. We were in  
>the same year.'<p>

'Were you friends?' Peter asked.

'No,' Hagrid said forcefully. 'I mean...' he softened. 'We weren't friends, but  
>we weren't enemies. Not like Potter and Snape, here. He seemed nice<br>enough-good looking, smart and a dab hand at all kinds of magic.'

'...but?' Sirius asked.

Hagrid sighed. 'No one could ever prove nothin',' he muttered. 'But there was  
>talk of him intimidating the other students. No one who'd run afoul of him ever<br>said a word against him again. He never tried that with me, course. He was certainly better at magic, but I was a fair sight bigger.'

James frowned. 'If you went to Hogwarts, how come you don't use magic?'

Hagrid's eyes flicked to his umbrella. James looked at it as if seeing it for the first time-it appeared to be a small umbrella built around a badly repaired wand.

'I got expelled,' he said gruffly. 'In me third year.'

'That's awful...' Peter said.

'Why?' Sirius said, ignoring a cuff from Remus.

Hagrid sighed. 'Again, no one could ever prove it,' he said. 'Somebody let summat kind of beast into the school and it killed a student. Someone framed me, made it look like I'd done it...it was only because Dumbledore vouched for me that I wasn't sent to Azkaban.'

'That's awful,' Peter said again.

'And you think it was Voldemort?' James asked.

Hagrid winced at the name. 'He wasn't called that back in his school days,' he said. 'But that's enough about that. I don't think Dumbledore would want me saying any more.'

'Why aren't people trying to stop him right now?' Sirius asked.

Hagrid looked surprised. 'Whaddya mean? You've seen the people round the castle-the Aurors, James' parents-'

'That's not what I mean,' Sirius said. 'I mean why isn't the Ministry openly hunting for him? Being on the lookout for him?'

Hagrid sighed. 'Understand this, you lot, because it's important. Vol-you know who operates in secrecy now, jus' like back in school. It's hard to connect anythin' to him. He gets his soldiers to do his dirty work.'

'Like Rochefort,' James muttered.

'Exactly like tha',' Hagrid agreed. 'An' you've seen firs' hand just how far he will go to get somethin' he wants. Nothin' is sacred and no one is safe. To get the Ministry to openly declare war would be like offerin' up their families for the slaughter. No...we need to operate like him, to an extent. We can' be declaring our intentions.'

'You want to keep him guessing,' James clarified. Hagrid nodded. 'What does he want with me? And Lily?'

Hagrid stood up. 'I think that's enough for now. You'd best be off.'

*

'As if I didn't like this Voldemort enough already,' Sirius muttered as they trudged back up to the castle. 'He got Hagrid expelled. Poor bloke.'

'Didn't really get a lot of answers though,' Peter said. 'I mean, we still don't know what he wants with us.'

'I agree, I've got more questions than when we went down there,' James muttered.

'Well, we've got a few things to go on,' Remus said confidently. The other three turned to stare at him. 'You three,' he muttered. 'I think you'd drop dead if you ever set foot in the library. We know that Voldemort was at school at the same time as Hagrid. The library keeps records of every student who came through here. We might be able to find him.'

'But Hagrid said he had a different name,' Peter said.

'Hagrid also said he was nearly sent to Azkaban...I'd be willing to bet there's a record of that, and if Hagrid named who he suspected of setting him up...' Remus trailed off.

'That's brilliant!' Sirius said. 'You should go there right now!'

Remus' eyes narrowed. 'This isn't exactly going to be a quick search, you know,' he said. 'There will be almost two thousand names to go through, and then I'd have to find the record of Hagrid's dismissal, too.'

'We could help?' Peter offered.

Remus looked at Peter, then at James and Sirius. 'I think you'd actually slow me down,' Remus said with a smile after a moment.

'Smart lad,' Sirius chuckled. 'We could make a weekend of it.'

'No, I can't,' Remus said abruptly. 'I...have to go this weekend.'

James looked around and stopped. He had forgotten entirely that the full moon was approaching. 'I hadn't even thought about you-your-er...furry little problem,' he muttered.

Remus laughed. 'It's alright. If I'm lucky, I can forget about it sometimes, too,' he said.

'We hadn't even looked at the book you brought,' Sirius said miserably. 'We should do that tonight. While you're in the library.'

Remus looked amused. 'I don't think you're going to master becoming Animagi in one evening.'

'Well, it can't hurt to try, can it?' James said bracingly as they headed back into the warm confines of Hogwarts.

*

On the contrary - it could hurt.

'I don't understand any of this,' Sirius groaned as he stared down at the book. 'It's like it's written in another language.'

'Maybe if we turned it upside down it would be easier,' James said, craning his neck to get a look at it that way. 'Okay, let's try this again. What does the first sentence say?'

Peter scrutinized the page. 'The basic methodology of the art of becoming an Animagus comes down to three fundamental paradigms. Number 1 - the physical manifestation of one's subconscious self is extrapolated from...'

'Extrapo-what?' Sirius barked.

'I have no idea what any of this means,' Peter said miserably.

'Maybe we should cave and ask McGonagall,' Sirius said.

'Under what pretense?' James scoffed. 'It might be a bit of a giveaway for our plan. 'Oh, hello, Professor McGonagall, the strictest teacher in Hogwarts. For no real reason, we're asking exactly how one would go about becoming an Animagus-illegally, I might add-just for information's sake'. She wouldn't suspect a thing.'

Sirius chuckled. 'I think we're going to need to read more books just to understand this one.'

'A dictionary would be helpful,' James sighed, slapping the book shut.

'Potter?' came a voice from behind James. He turned around and felt his blood run cold-there stood Professor Mondego. 'And Pettigrew,' he added coldly. James didn't need to turn to see that Peter probably looked as white as a sheet. 'It is six twenty-five,' Mondego said in an acid tone of voice. 'You are late for lessons.'


	17. Protections and Declarations

17

Professor Mondego's classroom was more crowded than it had been in previous instances. James quickly took in his surroundings—Snape, Lily, Edgar Bones, and a Ravenclaw girl he did not recognize were all in the classroom as Mondego stalked ahead of him and Peter.

'Now that we are all here…finally,' Mondego hissed in a deadly tone, 'we may begin. For some of you, this will be your first time practicing Occlumency. For others,' he looked at James and Snape, 'you already have some practice. I will be pairing you into groups. Severus, you will partner with Mr. Bones. Potter, you will partner with Ms. Evans. Pettigrew, you will partner with Ms. Patil.'

James gulped and looked at Lily. It was the first time he had really looked at her properly in a few days, ever since his scuffle with Snape. He expected her to look cross as she usually did, but her face was bizarrely impassive. James cast a glance at Snape whose face was the polar opposite—he looked so red that James half expected steam to start emitting from his ears at any moment.

James noticed that large circles had been draw on the floor for them all to stand in. He stepped into one opposite Lily and drew his wand, waiting for Mondego's instructions.

'How are you?' Lily said quietly.

'Okay,' James replied. 'And you?'

'There will be no talking,' Mondego said. 'The new students have been instructed on how to cast Legilimency. For our more experienced students, your only goal will be to repel them out of your mind—preferably with no outward signs of doing so. Now, begin.'

Lily raised her wand. 'Ready?' she said.

James nodded and braced himself, trying to clear his mind. He didn't even hear Lily mutter the incantation, he was simply spinning through his own memories until—

-it was the first day on the Hogwarts Express, and he was talking to Remus, the boy in the shabby robes…and now he was being admonished by Remus for always mussing up his air for no good reason…and now Remus admonishing him again for hexing Snape…and now James, Sirius and Peter discussing where they thought Remus went—

'That's enough,' James said suddenly, stepping backward. Lily looked surprised and James' eyes narrowed at her. 'What are you playing at?' he whispered.

'Nothing,' Lily replied. 'I was looking for something innocent to probe in your mind.'

'Innocent,' James deadpanned. He scrutinized Lily closely; he was suddenly having a rather vivid memory of her stating in their first year that she knew exactly where Remus went once a month, but that she wasn't going to tell them.

'Stop looking at me like that,' Lily said, going slightly pink.

'Like what?' James asked.

'Like I'm doing something wrong,' Lily said. 'I'm not your enemy.'

James snorted. 'Could have fooled me,' he replied.

'I thought I said no talking?' Mondego sneered suddenly from James' side. 'And your repelling of the Legilimens spell was not non-verbal, as I asked. You need to discipline your mind and focus your thoughts. Again, now.'

Lily sighed and raised her wand. 'Legilimens,' she said.

James was hurtling through the air at Quidditch Trials, swapping brooms with Frank Longbottom in mid flight to the adoration of the crowd below. Now they were playing in their first inter-squad game and Alice had been knocked from her broom, and James hollered to Frank for a slingshot move to rocket him forward to get her, and then he was telling Alice that it was all Frank's flying and James had just been a bystander…

And James saw Lily standing there, looking surprised, and he was suddenly able to flex his mind as if it were a muscle and push her out. Lily made no move to indicate she had noticed.

'Much better,' Mondego said and he stalked off.

'I'm not trying to fool you,' Lily said, breathing somewhat heavily. 'I know you have your moments, but I know you're also a good person. But you haven't been yourself since your family was attacked.'

James frowned. 'What do you mean?' he said.

'I mean,' Lily whispered, stepping closer. 'That you're usually vibrant, cocky, and you would never back down from something you had done. Something like getting into a fistfight with Sev,' she clarified with a meaningful glance at Snape. 'But now you're being surly, irritable and hot tempered. This isn't you.'

James contemplated that for a moment and looked at the ground. 'I'm sorry,' he replied. 'I didn't realize I was being that way. So Snape said…?'

'Sev,' she clarified in a whisper, giving a conspiratorial glance around, 'told me you attacked him. Hagrid told me otherwise. Given Sev's recent choice of friends, it wasn't hard who to pick to believe,' she said with a small smile.

'No talking, practicing!' came Mondego's voice from across the room.

James and Lily stepped apart and she raised her wand again. 'Legilimens!' she hissed.

James was home with his parents. They were talking about Mondego, and then James was pulling a mirror out of his rucksack—but James managed to pull himself back to the present. She couldn't know about the mirror…it would give away a lot of things.

'Why do you carry a mirror with you?' she mused.

'To make sure my hair always looks right,' James said with a grin. He was shocked to feel that the muscles in his face felt tight…maybe Lily was right. He hadn't been himself lately.

'That's enough for today. Ms. Patil, have a care with Mr. Pettigrew's mind or you may render him a babbling vegetable,' he drawled.

James looked over to see Peter was laying on the ground in a fetal position. 'Ms. Patil' looked profoundly apologetic. James rushed over to help Peter to his feet. 'Headache,' Peter murmured.

'Can I take him to the hospital wing?' James asked and Mondego waved a hand dismissively.

'I'll help,' Lily said, taking Peter's other arm. James didn't need to turn back into the classroom to feel Snape glaring daggers at him.

'What happened, Peter?' James asked.

Peter gulped, looking at Lily and then at James. 'There were things I didn't want her knowing,' he mumbled. 'Important things. So I pretended to get sick.'

James caught on instantly. Much like him, Peter knew Remus' secrets, and the persistent invasions into their minds were taxing their abilities to keep their friend's secret. James felt a swell of pride in Peter. He had clearly struggled with their first Occlumency class, but he had managed to keep all thoughts of Remus to himself.

'You can always feel free to share your thoughts, if you want, Peter,' Lily said helpfully. James guessed that she was assuming there was some dark moment in his past that he didn't want to discuss.

Peter looked surprised. 'Oh,' he said, going slightly pink in the cheeks. 'Thanks.' He then seemed to realize for the first time who he was walking with. 'Ah…I'm feeling better now. I'm going back to the common room.'

With that, he took off at a near sprint down the corridor, leaving James and Lily alone.

'He's a bit odd,' James said helpfully as Lily looked off in the direction where Peter had run. 'So…are you okay?' he asked.

Lily shrugged. 'As much as can be,' she said with a shrug. 'I finally got an owl from my parents. The ministry put out a story to the muggle press that they were involved in an attempted robbery, so they were able to go to a hospital.'

'That's good,' James said.

'They're back in the house now, and there's Aurors all around the neighborhood keeping an eye on them. Not that they know that, of course…Petunia would fly off the handle.'

James glanced at Lily who had a faraway look in her eyes again. 'You said you and your sister used to be close?' he asked.

Lily nodded. 'We were great friends. But then I got my Hogwarts letter…and she didn't.'

'Oh,' James said. 'Oh,' he added again with dawning understanding. 'She wanted to come, too?'

'We were barely eleven,' Lily sighed. 'Imagine your sister—well, imagine you even had a sibling—and they got a letter saying they could do magic and they were being invited to a school and you didn't. How would you feel?'

'Pretty rotten,' James conceded. 'That's no reason for her to be cruel to you, though. That's not your fault.'

'I know. I'd like to think she knows that, too,' she said. 'But Sev didn't really help matters.'

James pondered that for a moment. 'You and Sev have been friends for a while, haven't you?' he asked.

'Since I got my letter,' Lily replied. 'We've lived close to each other our whole lives. He really isn't all that bad…or he wasn't. There's good in him somewhere. He can still be that way—sweet, insightful and surprising. But since we've gotten to school…'

'…he's been a git?' James provided helpfully.

Lily looked scornfully at him. 'No,' she said. 'But he's making some bad decisions. And so are you.'

'Me?' James said in surprise.

'You shouldn't let him get to you,' she said earnestly.

James chuckled. 'I'm curious as to how you think I should react when someone punches me in the face,' he said in an amused tone.

'That was too far, but you should have turned the other cheek,' Lily said.

'Turned the other cheek?' James echoed. 'Look, Lily. I haven't exactly gone looking for fights with Snape for a while—he does a fine job of that by himself. And when it's not him, he's getting his friends to do it. I don't intend to take anything lying down.'

Lily sighed. 'Why can't you just get along,' she muttered.

James laughed. 'I wouldn't be opposed. You know that I tried apologizing to him after our little fight on the train in first year?'

She looked at him in surprise.

'True story,' James continued.

'So how did he end up with gum up his nose?' Lily said with a sly glare. 'I'm assuming this was the conversation you two had outside of Professor Bowen's classroom?'

James laughed again. 'He wasn't accepting my apology.'

Lily crossed her arms and glared at him. 'So shooting a wad of gum up his nose was supposed to what, help him understand your sincerity?'

James rolled his eyes. 'Oh come on, he was being a prat, it was a laugh…'

'That's what I'm talking about,' Lily said earnestly. 'You're so concerned with having a laugh—particularly at the expense of other people. You could be so much more if you put your mind to it.'

'You're beginning to sound like my Mum,' James said, although his tone was sarcastic. Lily shoved him, but not altogether too hard. 'Is that why you won't be friends with me?' James asked casually, casting a sidelong glance at her. 'Because you think I don't take anything seriously?'

Lily sighed. 'I know you take things seriously. Like Quidditch, and your friends,' she added. 'But yes, that's a big part of the reason we can't be friends, Potter.'

'But not all of it?' James added. 'Nothing to do with Sn—Sev?' he asked.

Lily stopped and looked at him full on, her face inscrutable. 'I'm capable of having friends who aren't necessarily friends with each other,' she said.

'But you're friends with Snape, and he starts just as much as I do,' James countered.

'That's different,' Lily said, although her tone wasn't as strong as it had been before.

Now James crossed his arms, smirking as he did so. 'How?' he asked.

'We've known each other a long time. He wasn't always like this. I have…I have to give him a chance to come around, to smarten up,' she said.

'And what about me?' James asked.

Lily shoved him again as they walked back towards the portrait hole. 'Same rules apply,' she chided. 'Come around and smarten up, and maybe—MAYBE—we can talk about being friends.'

'Well, well, what have we here?' came a drawling voice from behind them. James and Lily turned to find themselves facing Lucius Malfoy again. 'What are you two doing out in the corridors? Especially with supper so close to beginning at in the great hall?'

'Is it? I'd lost track of time,' said Lily sincerely.

Lucius glanced at the two of them. 'Potter, this is beginning to become routine with you.'

'What? Walking around? That's routine for most people,' James replied. Lily snorted.

'Dazzling,' Lucius replied. 'But there are no teachers around to save your skin this time, Potter.' He drew his wand from his pocket.

'Don't,' Lily hissed as James reached for his own. 'You'll just get into trouble.'

'But so would he,' James said, not taking his eyes from Lucius who chuckled.

'A general does not fight alongside the minions in battle,' he said. With that, a sudden force struck James upside the head and he was sent crashing to the ground for the second time in almost as many days. He heard Lily yell and the sound of shuffling feet. As James tried to shake the stars out of his eyes, he was hauled to his feet by the massive form of Mulciber. 'To the hospital wing, not the morgue,' Lucius said coldly and he turned and strolled off.

Mulciber threw James up against the wall and hit him in the face again. James nearly blacked out, but was aware enough of his surroundings to see Avery wrestling with Lily—he clearly had underestimated her. Lily landed a well placed kick to Avery's groin which buckled him to his knees.

Seized with sudden inspiration, James grabbed Mulciber's hair and head-butted him in the nose. Mulciber yelped and James raised his knee with all the force he could muster into Mulciber's groin. Mulciber grunted but still shoved James bodily backwards. James tripped over the outstretched form of Avery and landed with a thud on his back.

'You're in real trouble now,' came Lily's angry voice. James looked up to see her whirl her wand around in the air. A bizarre stream of bubble-like things was emitting from it and she suddenly pointed her wand forward. The bubbles raced forward and exploded onto Mulciber and Avery, both of whom howled in pain as James realized what they were—hovering orbs of scalding hot water. Avery cowered into a fetal position, but Muliber pressed towards them. James grabbed his own wand.

'Petrificus totalus!' he growled and Mulciber went stiff as a board and collapsed to the ground. James moved over to where Avery sat whimpering. 'Sneaking up on people and attacking them from behind?' he snarled.

'Expelliarmus!' came another voice and James' wand leapt out of his hand. He jumped backwards as Severus Snape approached. 'Well, well, who's going to come to your aid this time?' he snarled, clearly not having noticed Lily.

'Sev?' she asked in surprise, stepping out from behind the bend in the corridor that had obscured her from Snape's view.

Snape went even more pale than usual. 'Lily?' he hissed. 'What—how—what are you doing here? You were supposed to be back in the common room, Potter was supposed to be al—' he stopped himself short and James realized exactly what had happened. This ambush was meant for him and him alone. Lily had been a bystander.

Lily clearly understood this too. 'You knew about this?' she hissed in an eerily accurate imitation of a snake ready to strike. 'You were part of this? You were all just going to gang up on Potter and send him to St. Mungo's, were you?'

Snape flushed, pocketing his wand. 'It wasn't like that,' he murmured.

'Then explain it to me!' Lily shouted, all pretense of calm gone now. 'Explain just what the hell you and your friends are doing here!'

Mulciber stirred on the ground, the effects of James' spell wearing off. James sauntered over to him and smiled down at him before delivering a swift kick across his face. 'To the infirmary. Not the morgue,' he said coldly as he picked up his wand and pointed it at Avery. 'Both of you. Now. Before I change my mind.'

Avery helped a stiff Mulciber to his feet and they ran off down the corridor. Snape stood looking unsure of himself under Lily's withering glare. 'He just kicked Mulciber when he was defenseless—' Snape tried.

'Don't…you…dare,' Lily snarled. 'I've been making excuses for you for the last two years, Sev. That's a long time to be explaining why my best friend is suddenly one of the worst people in the school,' she said hotly.

Snape looked like he'd been slapped across the face. He saw James looking at him and flushed even harder. 'Can we talk privately—' he started.

'No!' Lily snapped. 'I don't want to hear anything you've got to say. You don't think anything through, do you? You've ignored me all of the times I've told you how worried I am about you, and now you and your friends plan an attack on Potter.'

'You weren't supposed to be here! If you weren't gallivanting around being friends with him this wouldn't have happened!' Snape shouted.

'I can choose my friends for myself. You apparently have,' Lily said coldly and she turned and marched off down the hallway in a huff. 'You're lucky I don't go straight to Dumbledore,' she called over her shoulder as she disappeared out of sight.

James was left staring at Snape who seethed back at him. 'Nice job,' James said coldly. 'What's wrong? Couldn't beat me one on one, so thought you'd jump me?'

'This means war, Potter,' Snape snarled. 'She's my friend. You have no business with her.'

'You have a funny way of treating your friends,' James replied. 'But if it's a war you want, it's a war you'll get. You'd better be sure this is what you want. This has been child's play up to this point.'

Snape pointed his wand at James, sparks emitting from the end. James did the same. 'Oh just you wait, Potter,' he snarled. 'One of these days…you are going to get yours. I only hope I'm there to see it.'

James smiled maliciously back at Snape. 'You might want to get a book. I don't plan on going anywhere for a while.'

James sat down for dinner in the great hall a short while later. Remus looked at him in surprise as he did so. 'Now what have you done?' he asked.

'What?' James replied.

'You've got a great big lump on the side of your head…Snivelly again?' Sirius snarled, standing from the bench. James put a hand on his shoulder and sat him down.

'Yeah…in a roundabout way,' James said, glancing across the great hall. Lucius was in heated conversation with Snape and Regulus Black—there was no sign of Mulciber and Avery. 'Alright guys, listen up. The gloves are coming off. This time, we're going to get Snape back.'

Sirius' eyes glinted with excitement. 'Oh, this is going to be fun.'

Remus sighed and pushed aside his plate as Peter looked worried. 'And just what did you have in mind?' Remus asked in a resigned tone.


	18. Allies and Plots

18

James' scheming took up a large portion of the next few days. Any moment where  
>they were not in class, he retreated to his dormitory—accompanied by Remus,<br>Peter and Sirius—to plot exactly how and, almost as importantly, when they were  
>going to strike back at Snape and his friends.<p>

'The when and where is important,' James was in the middle of saying. 'We need  
>to be sure that the teachers don't catch us in the act. We could be expelled if<br>we get caught.'

Peter looked terrified. 'Expelled? But what would we do?'

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Obviously, the plan is simple—don't get caught,' he  
>said impatiently. He was looking over some assorted parchments with scribbles<br>of drawings and ideas that James had come up with. 'I have to say, you may have  
>outdone yourself on this front, James.'<p>

'Thanks,' James said proudly.

'Not entirely meant as flattery…my question becomes, can the four of all pull  
>this off on our own?'<p>

James pursed his lips as he gave that some thought. 'I know there's some heavy  
>lifting, and we have to be kind of scattered about to ensure it all goes off<br>without a hitch…'

Remus grabbed the parchment from Sirius. 'He's right,' he murmured. 'We're  
>going to need some extra hands if you want this all to go off as you have<br>planned…and I'm not entirely sure we could even manage it then. This is pretty  
>big.'<p>

'I know some people who might be able to help,' James said after a moment.

'Well, spit it out, then,' Sirius said. 

'Just a moment!' James tore out of the room and returned a few moments later  
>with Gideon and Fabian Prewett in tow. 'Have you met the Prewetts?' <p>

Handshakes were exchanged all around, and Fabian looked at James with raised  
>eyebrows. 'So, you said something about causing mayhem for some Slytherins?' he<br>said with an eager glint in his eye. 

'We're always up for a little mayhem. And chaos. We're a bit of a double act,'  
>Gideon added with a grin.<p>

'Right,' James said, handing the parchments over to the two of them. 'Severus  
>Snape is a boy in our second year. He crossed a line recently, and we intend to<br>get him back.'

Gideon looked up. 'Should I take this as confirmation of the rumor that you and  
>Lily Evans were attacked by Malfoy and his gang?' <p>

'How did you hear that?' Sirius asked. 

'Please,' said both the twins at once.

'Well…yes, it's true,' James added.

Gideon swore silently and Fabian looked mutinous. 'Malfoy, Snape, Mulciber and  
>Avery. Those were the four involved, yes?' Fabian asked.<p>

'We should add Regulus to the list,' Sirius said bitterly. 'He's been in on  
>their antics a few times before.'<p>

Fabian was looking over the parchments with raised eyebrows. 'Impressive.  
>Limited, but impressive,' he said.<p>

'So will you help us?' James asked. 

'Oh we'll do better than that,' Gideon said with a sly grin. 'We share your  
>youthful enthusiasm, but we are not so encumbered by a lack of magical<br>knowledge,' he said with a wink. 'I know I definitely have some recommended  
>modifications to the plan.'<p>

'Me too,' Fabian said with a smile. 'Malfoy's a prat, and I've been yearning  
>for the chance to get him like Arthur Weasley did last year. That was the stuff<br>of legends, bless him,' he said with a twinkle in his eye. 'And he's going to  
>be a member of the family, too.'<p>

'What?' Sirius asked.

Gideon grinned. 'Old Arthur proposed to our sister Molly,' he said. 'We could  
>always use more mischief makers in the family. Now…have you thought about when<br>you wanted to do this?'

'Last day of class, the day before we all depart back to London on the Hogwarts  
>Express,' James said readily. 'We don't want Malfoy to be in a position to take<br>points from Gryffindor should he find out any of us were involved.'

Fabian nodded, impressed. 'Well reasoned,' he said. 'Last day it is. That  
>leaves us only a couple of months to plan.'<p>

'Best to get started now,' Gideon said with a smile. 

James yawned as he stepped down into the common room. It was very late—they had  
>stayed awake planning for several hours. A glance at his watch told him it was<br>nearing two in the morning, but as there was no class the next day, he was not  
>concerned by this. He went to sit near the fire when he realized that Lily<br>Evans was sitting there once again.

'Alright, Evans?' he asked, ignoring the thought of how their previous fireside  
>conversation had ended.<p>

Lily looked up. 'Oh…hi, Potter,' she said in a distracted tone. 'Can't sleep?'  
>she asked.<p>

'Sleep is for the weak,' he replied. He noticed she was looking at him with an  
>abnormal amount of concern, and he suddenly placed why she was asking. 'I<br>haven't really slept well since…you know. Are you sleeping?'

Lily smiled faintly. 'Not much,' she replied. 'I have bad dreams.'

James stared into the fire. 'Me too,' he said. 'We're in the same boat.'

Lily snorted. 'In the same boat as James Potter…top of the list of 'Places I  
>never thought I'd find myself',' she said in a sardonic tone.<p>

'How are things with Sniv—Sev?' James asked, correcting himself before he asked.

Lily looked at him reproachfully, but then shrugged. 'He's sorry,' she said at  
>last. 'He said he knows what he did was wrong and that he just got carried<br>away. I guess you and he bring that out in each other,' she said.

'Are you going to forgive him?' James asked slowly.

'Would you hate me if I did?' Lily replied.

James chuckled. 'You've already said we aren't friends…so who you are friends  
>with doesn't make a difference to me. But it won't make me like him,' he added.<p>

'No, that would be asking for a miracle,' said Lily with a sigh. 'Have you ever  
>asked Sirius how he does it?' she asked.<p>

'Does what?'

'Deal with the fact that someone so close to him is…so different?' Lily asked.

James frowned. 'You're talking about Regulus now?' he asked. She nodded. 'Well,  
>his secrets aren't mine to share…but it's evident to anyone with eyes that<br>they're not exactly close.'

'Were they ever?' Lily asked.

James shrugged. 'If you heard him talk about his family, you'd probably say  
>no,' he said. 'They're very different people. I think on some level it bugs<br>him, but he's pretty good at burying those feelings.'

'Are you good at that?' Lily asked.

James looked at her skeptically. 'Good at what?'

'Burying your feelings,' Lily said. 'Like in Occlumency. Not showing people  
>what you truly are like?'<p>

James smiled. 'We all have secrets,' he said at last. 'But if you're asking if  
>my deep, dark secret is that I'm really a swell guy…well, that's actually<br>common knowledge.'

Lily laughed lightly. 'Modesty is another one of your nice qualities.'

'Why thank you,' James said. 'So are you going to forgive him?' he repeated,  
>bringing the conversation back to Snape.<p>

Lily stared into the fire. 'He's a good friend to me…I just hate how he treats  
>other people. But I think he's more himself with me than he is anyone else. I<br>worry about what it would do to him if I…I wasn't around to be that for him.'

'You want to save him from himself, in other words?' James supplied.

'I guess that sounds right,' Lily said with a sigh.

James chewed on that for a moment. 'I don't think he's worth it, to be honest,'  
>he said. 'He's up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts, and he's running with a<br>really bad crowd. Malfoy…' James trailed off, wondering whether or not he  
>should share his theory with Lily about Malfoy heading off to join the Death<br>Eaters upon graduation. He decided, for the moment, to play that card close to  
>his chest. '…is seriously bad news.'<p>

Lily nodded glumly. 'Although compared to Mulciber and Avery he looks like a  
>saint,' she murmured. 'I just don't get it. He can be so kind, thoughtful and<br>genuine when he's with me…but when he hangs out with those two, it's like his  
>brain takes a holiday.'<p>

James sighed. 'Well, I can't make you give up on him,' he said. 'But I wouldn't

hold my breath on saving him.'

Lily eyed James defiantly. 'He's got his whole life ahead of him, Potter. Even  
>if it comes at the end, there is always a chance for redemption.'<p>

And with that, Lily got up from the fire. She paused. 'Can I ask you a favor?'

'What's that?' James asked.

'Can you please not…start anything with him? It would make my life a lot  
>easier,' she said in a pleading tone.<p>

James squirmed. He was hoping to avoid this—being forced to lie to Lily.  
>Because as much as he wanted to do as she was asking, he was also itching for<br>retribution on Snape and his gangs for their attacks not just on him, but on  
>her. 'I promise…not to let him provoke me. Again,' he said, choosing his words<br>carefully.

Lily smiled. 'Thanks, Potter. Good night,' she said and she disappeared up the  
>staircase.<p>

James sighed as he stared into the fire again. There would be absolutely no way  
>that anyone could legitimately tie him to the plan they had set in motion, but<br>to someone who knew the situation well—like Lily—evidence would not be required  
>to single out James as one of the perpetrators. For a moment, he shuddered at<br>the thought of how angry she would be when they exacted their retribution on  
>Snape and his friends.<p>

But then he thought of Mulciber and Avery jumping him and Lily, and all  
>thoughts of fear of her anger were wiped from his mind, replaced by an<br>unrelenting glee at the images flowing through his mind. 

The next Occlumency class was a week later. Mondego seemed to be in a  
>particularly foul mood as the class progressed, leaving James to wonder if<br>something had occurred that had him on edge. Fortunately, he had allowed the  
>students to pick their own partners—James and Peter had practically leapt at<br>the chance to partner together. Not only were they worried about protecting  
>Remus' secret, but now they also had their plot against Snape to conceal as<br>well.

James observed Lily asking Snape if he wanted to partner, but he was surprised  
>when Snape flushed crimson and declined—leaving Lily to partner with the Patil<br>girl from Ravenclaw while Snape partnered with Edgar Bones.

Once class finished, James and Peter took off at a brisk walk down the  
>corridors of the school. 'What do you suppose had Mondego so cranky?' James<br>asked.

'Was he crankier than usual?' Peter replied in an exasperated tone. 'I didn't  
>hear him say that I had an idiotic, simplistic moron-mind any more often today.'<p>

James laughed. 'Don't let him get to you, Peter. Maybe his mother didn't cuddle  
>him enough as a baby.'<p>

Peter snorted. 'I don't think he has a mother,' he muttered. 'I think he just  
>spawned into being out of someone's hate.'<p>

James laughed. 'A solid form of negative thoughts and energy?' he asked.  
>'Actually, that's a pretty good description of him,' he added and he and Peter<br>laughed as they made their way to the common room through the Great Hall. The  
>doors opened and admitted Gideon and Fabian Prewett, both of whom were carrying<br>large sacks.

'Good day,' said Fabian politely as they strolled past.

'What-?' Peter began to ask.

'Not here,' Gideon said quietly out of the corner of his mouth. 'Not in public.'

The two of them took the stairs quickly and disappeared from sight. Peter  
>looked at James with facial expression that was equal parts amused and<br>confused. 'We shouldn't be seen in public together...it could cast suspicion,'  
>James reasoned.<p>

'Oh,' Peter said. 'Do you really think this is all worth it?' he asked.

James looked at him evenly. 'Come on, Peter,' he said with a slightly irritated  
>tone. 'Don't you remember Mulciber and Avery ganging up on you? Don't you think<br>they deserve a little payback?'

Peter looked nauseous. 'I do,' he said hastily. 'But I just think...maybe if we  
>ignore them they'll go away.'<p>

'Don't have much experience with bullies, do you?' James said darkly. 'These  
>kids are Death Eaters in the making, mark my words. It's all part of the fight<br>against this Voldemort character.'

'And you think that's wise?' Peter said slowly.

James stopped moving and glared at him. 'He's responsible for the attack on my  
>family. Lily's too. You could be next.'<p>

Peter looked terrified. 'Of course,' he said quickly. 'I know that. But  
>wouldn't it be smart to-well, keep our heads down?'<p>

James sighed. 'Look, Peter. I can't make you take part in this. But you can't  
>just walk through life worrying about getting hurt. We're in the right here and<br>we're stronger than them. You just need to be confident.'

'You really think we're stronger than them?' Peter asked.

'Even before Gideon and Fabian joined up we were. Now we're unstoppable,' James  
>said with a grin.<p>

Peter looked more relaxed. 'Okay,' he said.

They were nearly back to the common room when they were greeted by Sirius and  
>Remus. 'We were wondering where you were,' Sirius said happily. 'Our partners<br>in arms brought back some seriously cool stuff. We're certainly going to close  
>out the year with a bang.'<p>

Even Remus looked excited. 'It's pretty impressive stuff.'

'What is impressive?' came a serene voice from behind them, and James turned to  
>see Albus Dumbledore striding towards them.<p>

'Ah-Peter's progress in Occlumency,' James lied quickly. 'He's really coming  
>along.'<p>

Dumbledore surveyed James over the tops of his half-moon spectacles for a  
>moment, but his smile did not disappear. 'Very good,' he said, turning his gaze<br>to Peter. 'It is of great importance that you both take your studies very  
>seriously.'<p>

'Professor...' James asked. 'Mondego-'

'Professor Mondego, James,' Dumbledore said quietly.

'Sorry, Professor Mondego was...well, he was in a foul mood today.'

'A foul mood?' Dumbledore repeated.

James smiled slightly. 'More foul than usual,' he said, half expecting  
>Dumbledore to look cross. But he was taken aback when Dumbledore laughed<br>heartily. 'Is everything alright?' James asked.

Dumbledore sighed. 'Yes, everything is fine. Nothing to worry yourselves over,'  
>he said with a twinkle in his eye, but James thought for a moment that he saw<br>concern cross his withered face. 'I do hope that you will devote as much time  
>to your other studies as you do to Occlumency; end of year exams are only a few<br>months away.'

'Yes, Sir,' said the four boys at once and Dumbledore was off.

'I don't envy you,' Sirius said as they stepped back through the portrait hole.  
>'Having extra classes with Mondego must be a nightmare.'<p>

'It is,' Peter muttered as they sat in front of the fireplace. Frank and Alice  
>were seated there as well, Dorcas Meadowes was too.<p>

'Alright, Captain?' James said brightly as he sat down.

Dorcas nodded but looked stressed. 'Our last regular match is next week against  
>Hufflepuff. If we beat them by ninety or more points, that puts us in the<br>Quidditch Final against Slytherin,' she said. 'Oh, I'd love to see the look on  
>Malfoy's face if we beat him...' she trailed off, her eyes glassy at the<br>thought.

'Don't worry about it,' said Frank confidently. 'We've got the quickest seeker  
>out there,' he said with a smile at Alice who glowed with pride.<p>

Dorcas chuckled at the sight. 'It's a pity I graduate next year. You two are  
>going to be fun to watch.'<p>

Frank flushed slightly. 'I don't know what you mean,' he said.

'Never you mind,' Dorcas said, evidently enjoy her inside joke. 'I'm calling a  
>practice this Saturday, Potter. Can you make it?'<p>

James nodded. 'Absolutely, provided that Professor Mondego doesn't try and give  
>me more private lessons,' he muttered. 'These extra lessons are going to be the<br>death of me.'

'Learning Occlumency though...that's pretty interesting, right?' Frank asked.  
>'It wasn't in any of the school books until I hit fourth year revision, and it<br>was barely covered then. But it looks like a really handy skill, especially if  
>you want to be an Auror.'<p>

James raised his eyebrows. 'Is that something you want to do?'

'Of course,' Frank said brightly. 'I mean, I'm slowing things down a bit,' he  
>said with a small smile at Alice. 'But when I graduate, I want to catch Dark<br>Wizards.'

Dorcas looked impressed and amused. 'You can pretty much take it easy for the  
>next few years, can't you? Given that you've already done all the exams.'<p>

Frank smiled and cast a glance at James. 'I did, and I think I will,' he said.  
>'Someone told me the importance of enjoying my youth.'<p>

James grinned. 'It'll be even more enjoyable when we beat Slytherin for the  
>Cup,' he said.<p>

'Don't jinx us!' Dorcas said seriously.

Alice laughed. 'Relax, Captain,' she said confidently. 'Malfoy's money is no  
>match for our skill.'<p>

The night began to die down and Dorcas went up to catch an early night's sleep. A while later, it was down to James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Frank and Alice gathered around the fireplace.

'So is it true that you and Lily were attacked by Lucius Malfoy?' Frank asked after a while.

'No,' James said. 'Malfoy didn't lift a finger. His flunkies, on the other hand...'

Frank sighed. 'It's hard to believe that people in this school actually sympathize with Voldemort,' he said in a steely tone that James could not mistake for anything other than anger. 'I have half a mind to go and hex him.'

'But you'd get in trouble,' Alice said earnestly.

Frank nodded. 'I know,' he said. 'But sometimes I think it would be worth it.'

'Don't worry about Lucius Malfoy, mate,' James said. Frank looked at him with raised eyebrows. 'Trust me. Gits like him always get their just deserves...sooner or later.' 

With that, James got up and went to the dormitory to go to bed, with Sirius, Peter and Remus in hot pursuit.


	19. Poisons and Victories

19

The match against Hufflepuff arrived more quickly than James had anticipated.  
>The school was buzzing; Hufflepuff was already out of the running, and the race<br>to meet Slytherin in the Quidditch Final was down to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.  
>Ravenclaw was up by eighty points over Gryffindor, meaning that James and his<br>teammates needed at least ninety to face off against Slytherin in the  
>championship game.<p>

'I don't even know how Slytherin got to the final, to be perfectly honest,'  
>Frank was saying as they suited up in their dressing room before the match.<br>'They were pretty poor when we played them.'

'That's because we have some size,' Cresswell yawned as he indicated Gideon and  
>Fabian laughing in the corner of the room. 'They demolished Hufflepuff. Malfoy<br>barely had to lift a finger all game long, and three of Hufflepuff's players  
>ended up in the hospital wing.'<p>

'What about Ravenclaw?' James asked.

Cresswell grimaced. 'Five to the hospital wing, but they kept it closer.'

'We'll have a fun championship match ahead of us, then,' James said confidently  
>as he slid on his gloves.<p>

'Don't jinx us,' Dorcas said nervously for what seemed like the hundredth time.

'You alright Captain?' Alice asked as she adjusted her cloak. 'You look a  
>little sick.'<p>

'I feel sick,' Dorcas muttered darkly, and she was right-there was a distinct  
>green hue to her face.<p>

'Dorcas?' James asked hesitantly as she wobbled for a moment, and then her  
>knees buckled. In a flash, Gideon and Fabian were at her side, propping her up<br>with their arms under her armpits. Dorcas looked profoundly unwell and had  
>broken out into a cold sweat. 'What did you eat?' James asked.<p>

'Nothing,' Dorcas gasped. 'Bathroom!' she said urgently.

'Quick!' Gideon cried and he and Fabian rushed Dorcas to a bathroom stall where  
>they deposited her and resolutely turned their backs as the sounds of Dorcas<br>being ill filled the dressing room.

Alice looked flabbergasted. 'We'll need to get her to the hospital wing!'

'I don't think there's much chance of her moving,' Frank said with a wince as  
>Dorcas retched again. 'We might have to get Madam Pomfrey to come here.'<p>

'She really didn't eat anything this morning?' James asked, looking at the  
>twins.<p>

Fabian shook his head. 'No, she insisted that she plays better on an empty  
>stomach. She only drank...she...' he trailed off and looked at Gideon who was<br>staring back, and they both seemed to share some sort of realization.

'What is it?' James asked.

'Malfoy,' the twins said at once.

Frank's eyes narrowed. 'What about Malfoy?'

'He came by the table,' Gideon said.

'To wish Dorcas luck,' Fabian added. 'We weren't looking-he must have slipped  
>something into her pumpkin juice.'<p>

Dorcas retched again as Gideon and Fabian looked mutinous. 'Let's go get him,'  
>Gideon said through clenched teeth as they stormed towards the door.<p>

'No!' Cresswell said, blocking the way. 'We're already without a keeper, if we  
>lose our beaters we'll have no choice but to forfeit!'<p>

Fabian looked flabbergasted. 'Who's going to keep for us right now?' he said.  
>'It's too close to game time to find a suitable replacement.'<p>

'It's Hufflepuff. Their offense is dreadful, we can play one short. I'll go  
>back as keeper,' Cresswell said evenly.<p>

'But you're rubbish,' Gideon pointed out.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence,' Cresswell said easily. 'But unless you  
>have a better idea, our match starts in two minutes. If we forfeit, we lose the<br>chance to get back at Malfoy where it counts...on the Quidditch Pitch.'

James could see the twins wrestling with their desire to go and pound Malfoy  
>into the earth right now with the thought of winning the Quidditch Cup over<br>him. 'Fine,' Gideon said at last.

Cresswell nodded and turned to Alice. 'Dearborn, go and fetch Professor  
>McGonagall. Tell her what's happened to Dorcas and that we're going to need<br>Madam Pomfrey down here at once.'

Alice took off out of the room. Cresswell turned to face Frank and James. 'We  
>need to hedge our bets today. Alice is a great seeker, but Hufflepuff's is a<br>seventh year named Amos Diggory, and he's quite good. We need to put as many  
>quaffles through their hoop as possible while Alice tries to get the<br>snitch...so go nuts.'

James and Frank nodded at once and Cresswell turned to face the Prewetts.

'Just play your game. Don't let anyone near my hoop,' he said simply.

'Got it,' the twins said as one.

'And Dorcas...feel better,' Cresswell said.

Dorcas' face emerged from the bathroom stall. 'I could...kiss you...right  
>now...' she groaned.<p>

Cresswell's face morphed into a cross between a grimace and a grin. 'Stop  
>throwing up first. Then we'll talk. Okay, Gryffindor, let's roll out.'<p>

_

The Quidditch Pitch was a raucous scene. It seemed like the whole school had  
>turned out to watch the game, and it was a very divided group. The Slytherins<br>occupied the far end of the pitch, booing viciously as the Gryffindors emerged  
>onto the pitch. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw supporters were more polite, but<br>it was also clear they were both pulling for Hufflepuff to win, as a victory  
>would send Ravenclaw into the final match against Slytherin.<p>

The Gryffindor supporters had to be extra loud to be heard over the other  
>cheers, and they did so admirably. James laughed as he noticed that Sirius had<br>bewitched a series of trumpets that he must have stolen from Professor  
>Flitwick's music room, as they were bleating a fairly terrible pump-up song for<br>the team. Flitwick was trying to make his way over to Sirius, and James noticed  
>Professor Dumbledore was laughing heartily at the sight.<p>

'You're sure you don't wish to forfeit?' Madam Hooch asked as the Gryffindors  
>arrived at the center of the pitch. 'I haven't seen a team start shorthanded in<br>years...and it didn't go well.'

Cresswell smiled. 'We'll give it a go,' he said cheerily.

James noticed Alice and the Hufflepuff seeker, Amos Diggory sizing each other  
>up. They were terribly mismatched-as a seventh year, Diggory was a fully<br>matured young adult. He was short, but he was also muscular. Alice was still  
>much shorter, and she was slender. It would come down to her speed to be able<br>to catch the snitch.

'Alright, I want a good clean game,' Hooch said.

'Good luck, James,' said Edgar Bones bracingly. James reached out to shake his  
>hand.<p>

'You too,' he said.

And they were off. The quaffle lifted up into the sky and James kicked off, his  
>Comet Two Sixty launching up into the sky. He grabbed the quaffle and instantly<br>rolled, looking for Frank whom he quickly spotted pulling a long loop around  
>the opposite side of the stadium. Two of the Hufflepuff chasers had followed<br>James. He quickly darted between them and hurled the quaffle to Frank, who  
>evaded the third chaser-Edgar Bones-and roared in alone on the Hufflepuff<br>keeper. Frank feinted quickly to one side and then whipped the quaffle in the  
>opposite direction, ringing it off the inside of the hoop with a satisfying<br>clang for the first score of the match. The Gryffindors went wild.

'Hey Potter!' came a voice from down below where James was. James looked down  
>to see Lucius Malfoy leering up at him. 'What happened to your keeper? Fallen<br>ill?'

James' face darkened. 'Ask her yourself in the final,' he snapped and he flew  
>off as the quaffle jumped into play once again. James apologized in his head as<br>he bumped Edgar Bones off the quaffle and snatched it, turning and pelting it  
>towards Frank who roared in alone once again and scored. Twenty to nothing.<p>

'Nice work, Potter, keep it up!' Cresswell called from the hoops.

'Stay focused, Dirk!' Gideon bellowed as the quaffle came launching across the  
>pitch. Edgar Bones had gotten a hold of it and let loose with a simply<br>stunningly powerful shot. Cresswell had to hurl himself with all his might  
>across the hoop to bat it away, and he shook his hand in discomfort after the<br>fact.

'Holy,' Fabian muttered as her flew by James. 'He's got a hell of an arm.'

'Don't let him get any more shots off, James,' Gideon added as he whacked a  
>bludger at Edgar who dodged it easily.<p>

James cast a glance upwards at Alice, who was circling the pitch, her eyes  
>scanning intently for the snitch. Diggory was on the other side, alternating<br>between scanning the pitch and watching Alice for any sign that she had seen  
>it. James focused back on the game as Edgar moved the quaffle to one of the<br>other chasers, only to have that chaser nearly knocked from his broom by a  
>bludger that was sent by Gideon. The quaffle began to fall towards the ground<br>and James lurched forward, catching it in one hand and launching himself back  
>up towards the hoop. He faked a shot and deftly swung the quaffle behind his<br>back, hitting Frank with the pass and Frank deposited it into the unguarded  
>hoop. Thirty to nothing.<p>

The game stretched on for some time. James did his best to shadow Edgar at  
>every opportunity, but it was relatively moot. The Hufflepuff offense, minus<br>his strong arm, was particularly dreadful. But it didn't matter how many points  
>Gryffindor got if Alice couldn't get the snitch.<p>

On two occasions, Edgar gave the Hufflepuffs reason to cheer by shaking loose  
>of James' check and scoring twice. It was at the point when the game was one<br>hundred to twenty in favour of Gryffindor that the snitch came into play.

James was racing in two on one against a Hufflepuff beater with Frank when  
>Alice flashed past his vision almost directly in front of his face in a near<br>vertical dive. James retained his focus and whipped the quaffle through the  
>hoop before turning to see what was happening.<p>

Alice was showing far more reckless abandon than the more experienced Diggory,  
>who was flying in at an angle to catch the fluttering snitch that was down near<br>the ground. James felt his stomach rise up to shake hands with his throat as  
>Alice got nearer and nearer to the ground.<p>

'Pull up!' Frank cried.

The crowd sucked in their breath and James grimaced-but the impact never came.  
>Alice had somehow managed to come to a near dead stop only inches above the<br>ground, and her hand was closed around the snitch. James had never seen a move  
>to its equal-she hadn't pulled up, she hadn't veered off, she had simply<br>brought herself to a complete halt. James was amazed that she hadn't simply  
>flown off her now stationary broom and continued on to the ground.<p>

But all of that went through his mind in a flash as the Gryffindors erupted,  
>drowning out the groans from the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws and the boos<br>from the Slytherins.

James and Frank cheered, launching themselves down to the ground and hopping  
>off their brooms next to Alice, who was jumping up and down and pumping her<br>fists in the air.

'You did it!' Frank cried, lifting her into a massive hug. James bent down and  
>hauled one of her legs over his shoulder. Frank caught on and did the same with<br>the other and they carried her over to the stream of Gryffindor supporters that  
>were pouring onto the pitch. Cresswell and the Twins landed a moment later,<br>joins James and Frank in supporting Alice in the air as they cheered.

'That was brilliant, Alice!' came Lily's voice and James turned to see that she  
>was standing there amongst the supporters. 'You're in the Quidditch Cup!'<p>

'I know!' squealed Alice.

'Party in the common room!' bellowed Gideon.

_

The party lasted until nearly midnight. Gideon and Fabian had smuggled in some  
>butter beer and some fire whisky ('None for you, you're too young,') they'd<br>said to James, Alice and Frank. The portrait hole had opened around ten to  
>admit Dorcas, who-despite looking thin and a little unsteady-was grinning<br>broadly as she entered the room.

'My team, my team!' she said as she accepted a butter beer from a slightly  
>red-faced Fabian. 'I'm so proud of you! I was trying to watch from the hospital<br>wing, but all I saw was Alice suddenly go into a dive...'

They regaled her with the story of the match, but it was also clear that she  
>had eyes for Cresswell.<p>

'Let's move on over here,' Alice hinted in a somewhat obvious tone as Dorcas  
>moved to sit next to Cresswell.<p>

'I guess showing leadership on the pitch is the way to her heart,' Frank  
>quipped as they sat down by the fire.<p>

Sirius suddenly plopped down next to James. 'Did I hear a rumor that Malfoy  
>poisoned Dorcas?' he said in a conspiratorial tone of voice.<p>

James nodded. 'I think so. He was taunting me during the game,' he said, and he  
>quickly explained to the others what Malfoy had said.<p>

'We should report him to McGonagall,' Frank said at once. 'He should be  
>disqualified from the final game.'<p>

James held up a hand. 'And lose our chance at humiliating him?' he asked. Frank  
>looked surprised, but James grinned. 'Come on, Frank. We just won a game short<br>a player. Alice is the best seeker in the school, and we're unstoppable as  
>chasers. I think the best way to exact revenge on Lucius will be to run up the<br>score and humiliate him in front of the whole school.'

Sirius grinned. 'You can get old Snivelly at the same time,' he said.

'It certainly is appealing...' Frank murmured.

'Why don't we ask Dorcas?' Alice said, turning around to ask-and turning back  
>immediately, somewhat pink in the cheeks. James cast a glance over to see<br>Dorcas and Cresswell were wrapped around each other. It was truthfully a little  
>difficult to tell where she ended and he began.<p>

'Blimey,' Sirius said with raised eyebrows. James cuffed him.

'It's not polite to stare,' he said with a chuckle. 'Where are our other  
>partners in crime?'<p>

'Working,' Sirius said simply.

James cast a glance around-Remus and Peter were nowhere to be seen. He looked  
>back over at Sirius who simply raised his eyebrows once and disappeared off to<br>mingle in the party.

'What are you guys working on so much?' Alice asked. 'I never got the  
>impression that you gave homework much thought.'<p>

James smiled. 'Extra credit assignment,' he said with a wink.

'That means he's not going to tell you,' Frank observed. Alice gave him a light  
>smack on the shoulder as Lily came over and sat down with them.<p>

'So am I to take it that you're warming up to Quidditch?' Alice asked.

Lily smiled. 'It's not as bad as I first thought,' she said with a half-glance  
>at James.<p>

'Really? So you don't think that...what was it you said? 'Quidditch players  
>have as much between their ears, as they do between their feet and the<br>ground'?' James asked with a grin.

'Did you really say that?' Alice said in a mock-scandalized tone.

'Well, of course that's true for Potter,' Lily said with a smile as Alice  
>laughed. 'But the rest of the team is alright.'<p>

'Ouch, Evans,' James said. 'Well played. Of course you know what this means,  
>though-we play Slytherin in the final.'<p>

Lily regarded him warily. 'I'm aware of it,' she said. 'Just don't go  
>overboard.'<p>

'Overboard on what?' Frank asked.

'On Sev,' Lily said.

Alice's eyes narrowed. 'You're still friends with him? After what happened?'

'He made a mistake,' Lily said.

Frank and James exchanged a glance and they got up to move away as Alice and  
>Lily began speaking fairly heatedly. 'She's a very forgiving person,' Frank<br>observed.

'Except when it concerns me,' James replied lightly, although he wasn't  
>completely joking.<p>

Frank smiled. 'I think she likes you more than she lets on. She comes over to  
>talk to you fairly often.'<p>

'Scold me, more like,' James said.

Frank chuckled. 'Maybe that's her way of showing affection.'

'Oh really? And how do you and Alice show affection?' James asked.

Frank went slightly pink. 'We don't-I haven't-not yet,' he stammered.

'Relax, it was a joke,' James said. 'I don't expect to see you snogging each  
>others' faces off.'<p>

Frank nearly spit out the glass of water he'd been drinking. 'Honestly,' he  
>said in an exasperated tone as James laughed.<p>

'I think she wants to be more than friends,' James observed.

Frank looked over at her. 'I do, too,' he said. 'I just don't know how this is  
>all supposed to work.'<p>

'How what's all supposed to work?'

'You know...telling a girl you like her,' Frank said.

'Just do it. I told Lily,' James said confidently.

Frank nodded. 'And how is living happily ever after treating you?' he said  
>sarcastically. James pushed him playfully. 'We get to start going to Hogsmeade<br>next year. Maybe I'll tell her then.'

'You're going to wait a whole year?' James asked.

'You're the one who told me not to rush through my youth,' Frank pointed out.

James sighed. 'I hate it when I'm right,' he muttered.

'James was right about something? Someone take a photograph,' Sirius said as he  
>came up behind James. James observed the portrait hole closing softly behind<br>Sirius, and he could have sworn he saw a shoe coming into the room.

'How's Remus and Peter's homework going?' James asked idly.

Sirius' eyes glinted. 'Marvelous,' he replied.


	20. Preparations and Discussions

20

The school was abuzz over the upcoming Quidditch final. Naturally arch rivals,  
>the animosity between the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses was reaching fever<br>pitch. The site of fights breaking out in halls was becoming altogether common.  
>Dumbledore assigned Hagrid to patrol the hallways to break up any skirmishes<br>that broke out, but he could not be everywhere at once.

The Slytherin team was resorting to certain measures of skullduggery. Evan  
>Rosier and and Terrence Flint, Slytherin Chaser and Keeper respectively, tried<br>to jump Frank in a corridor and beat his legs with a bit of wood. They had  
>apparently not done their homework on Frank, who was arguably the most gifted<br>Defence Against the Dark Arts student in the whole school, much less his own  
>year. The end result was that Flint and Rosier bore a strong resemblance to<br>porcupines by the time Hagrid was able to intervene. It was evident that Hagrid  
>was fighting back a grin at the untouched Frank Longbottom, who simply smiled<br>innocently at him.

Gryffindors began to rome in packs around the school after that. Peter, Sirius  
>and Remus made it their mission to follow James wherever he went, and he was<br>not complaining.

'Oh, I hope Snivelly tries to take a jab at you,' Sirius was said as they made  
>their way out of Defence Against the Dark Arts one day.<p>

'I don't,' Peter yelped. 'What happened to sportsmanship and fair play?'

'This is war, Peter,' Sirius countered. 'Give no quarter and expect none back.'

'I don't think saying things like that is going to help,' Peter muttered,  
>clearly not overly enthused with having a target on his back as a byproduct of<br>following James around.

'Relax, Peter,' James said. 'Snivelly's trying to convince Lily he's reformed.  
>To attack us, he'd have to be even more stupid than I'd-'<p>

Sirius suddenly body checked James hard into the wall, causing the spell that  
>had been cast at the back of James' head to strike Sirius, sending him<br>cart wheeling through the air and landing in a heap at the base of a wall.

James roared with anger, turning around to see Regulus Black standing there.  
>Regulus raised his wand to cast again, but James was faster. 'Stupefy!' he<br>cried and Regulus was lifted off his feet and sent backwards into a wall. Two  
>large Slytherins rushed forward, pulling their wands, but Remus had already<br>drawn his.

'Protego!' he shouted, casting a shield charm in front of James and stepping  
>between them. 'Get back, James,' he said in an even tone as the two large<br>Slytherins began slashing their wand at Remus. While Remus was talented, it was  
>clear that the two older Slytherins were pushing him back.<p>

'Petrificus totalus!' Sirius growled from the floor and one of the Slytherins  
>went stiff as a board, falling backwards onto the ground. Remus then flicked<br>his wand and enormous bat wings erupted from the nose of the other Slytherin.  
>James turned to see Sirius and was stunned to see him sprinting forward. 'Get<br>over here, Regulus! We're having a family talk!' he roared as he batted aside  
>the large Slytherin still struggling with the Bat Bogey Hex that Remus had so<br>expertly cast.

Sirius threw his wand aside and leapt upon his younger brother who was still  
>fighting off the effects of James' stunning spell. Sirius was raining down<br>fists on Regulus' head when a loud bang sent him skittering backwards.

'Tut tut, Black,' said Lucius Malfoy as he strolled into the clearing, his eyes  
>alight with mirth. 'Such unsportsmanlike conduct. Attacking Slytherins who<br>won't even be in the match?'

James stepped forward. 'They attacked us,' he said forcefully.

'Mind your tongue, Potter. I think ten points from Gryffindor for each of you  
>will suffice,' Malfoy said coldly. 'And perhaps detention...'<p>

'What's going on here?' came the voice of Dorcas Meadowes as she stepped into  
>the middle of the room. She saw James and the scattered Slytherins and looked<br>at Malfoy, fury evident on her face. 'Really?' she said. 'You didn't learn your  
>lesson when you attacked Longbottom?'<p>

'Oh Meadowes, just go ahead and try to prove that I had something to do with  
>this,' Malfoy said with a sneer.<p>

'No bother,' Dorcas said, drawing her wand. 'Maybe I'll just pay you back for  
>poisoning my cup right now.'<p>

'Again-just try and prove it,' Lucius taunted as the two pointed their wands  
>at one another.<p>

'Stop,' James hissed to Dorcas, trying to bring her wand arm down. 'He's not  
>worth it.'<p>

'Cowering away, Potter?' Malfoy taunted.

James turned and smiled coldly at him. 'Just you wait. Humiliating you on the  
>Quidditch Pitch is only going to be the beginning,' he said.<p>

Remus and Peter will still trying to hold Sirius back as he tried to get at  
>Regulus once more. Regulus was now cowering behind Malfoy. 'Dear me, it looks<br>like you will need to increase your margin of victory now that this sorry group  
>has lost you so many points,' he sneered.<p>

'Don't,' James hissed as Dorcas tried to point her wand around him. 'We'll talk  
>to McGonagall, get the points put back up.'<p>

Malfoy left, Regulus and the two large Slytherins in tow.

'Who were those two?' Remus asked in exasperation as Sirius finally gave up  
>trying to get past him.<p>

'Crabbe and Goyle,' Dorcas replied. 'Lunkheads. Potter are you alright?'

James nodded. 'We're never afraid of a fight,' he said with a wink.

Dorcas surveyed the foursome. Sirius was glowering at Peter who had not managed  
>to draw his wand during the skirmish. 'Maybe I ought to get Gideon and Fabian<br>to accompany you as well,' she said. 'We need our Chasers in good shape for the  
>match.'<p>

'That'd be a good idea,' Sirius said earnestly, turning his attention away from  
>Peter. 'We could use a few words with them anyway,' he said with a knowing look<br>at James.

James nodded. 'We'd be happy for their company,' he said.

*

The four of them paid more attention to their homework than ever before,  
>scrambling as quickly as they could each night to get it all done as quickly as<br>possible. They had more important uses of their time to plan.

'Right, you lot?' Gideon said as he and Fabian arrived in their dormitory one  
>night. 'We got a few more supplies in from Hogsmeade.'<p>

'Excellent,' James said. 'So let's review the plan.'

'We have over a month to do that,' Remus said.

'We need to be thorough so everything goes off without a hitch,' Sirius said.  
>'James, walk us through it.'<p>

James nodded. 'Right. First thing's first-we all need to be scattered when it  
>starts. You know the reasons; if we're all together, they'll suspect us. Plus,<br>it will allow us to get to where we need to be quicker if we're not moving in a  
>group.'<p>

'And we're going to be where?' Gideon and Fabian repeated, humoring James as  
>they already knew the plan by heart.<p>

'You two are taking the Great Hall, that's where the plan starts. It's critical  
>that you get there unnoticed.'<p>

Fabian grinned. 'With the secret passages you told us about, it'll be easy.'

'Right,' James said turning to Sirius. 'Sirius and I will have done another  
>piece of legwork the night before. We're going to get into the Slytherin<br>dormitories to do some work on Malfoy's wardrobe.'

This is where Gideon always asked his question; 'And how do you plan to do  
>that?' he asked.<p>

'Sorry, but I learned something from Dumbledore-some secrets are better kept,'  
>James said with a grin. 'But don't worry-we'll get the job done.'<p>

'What next?' Peter asked. He was the only one who ever still seemed mystified  
>as to how the plan would work.<p>

'Remus will take care of distracting the teachers. He'll use some of the  
>supplies we got in from Hogsmeade. His job is to distract all of them out to<br>the courtyard, and hopefully most of the student body will follow.'

Remus had a guilty look on his face. 'I'd only ever do this for you, James,' he  
>said with a sigh.<p>

'Once we've rounded Malfoy and his gang up, we'll be getting them to the top of  
>Gryffindor Tower. That's where the icing on the cake will be applied.'<p>

Fabian grinned. 'And we just finished acquiring all the items needed for 'the  
>big bang' today,' he said. He opened the rucksack they had brought back from<br>Hogsmeade and showed it to the others.

'Wicked,' Sirius breathed. 'Which is which?'

'You'll find out,' Gideon said with a grin. 'I've got to say...this is going to  
>be the stuff of legends.'<p>

'They'll talk about this for years,' Fabian added with a dreamy expression.  
>'Shame we can't take credit for it without being expelled.'<p>

'I just wish we could do it now,' Sirius said with a wistful sigh. 'Go through  
>our target list again.'<p>

'Right,' James said. He waved his wand at a pin-up board on the wall and  
>several photographs with much writing on them appeared. 'Our chief target is<br>Lucius Malfoy. Head Boy, Slytherin Quidditch Captain...'

'...and total tosser,' Sirius added to a chuckle from the group.

'And total tosser,' James agreed. 'Secondary targets are Severus Snape.  
>Slytherin Beater, Dark Arts lover...'<p>

'...and greasy haired, big nosed prat,' Peter supplied helpfully to a clap on  
>the back from Sirius.<p>

'Regulus Black. Slytherin house member...' James trailed off, looking at Remus.  
>He flushed scarlet for a moment-insulting people didn't seem to be in his<br>nature.

'...disgraceful little coward?' Remus supplied in a weak voice to a nod of  
>approval from Sirius and the others.<p>

James grinned. 'Mulciber and Avery. Chasers for the Slytherin team...'

'...and prime examples of the bigger they are...' Gideon began.

'...the harder they will fall,' Fabian added with a grin as the twins exchanged  
>a high five.<p>

'Excellent,' James said. 'Now, we're going to need to keep a low profile. We're  
>already going to be wandering the halls together for most of the day, so if we<br>spend all of our time together outside of class, people might start to make  
>connections. So we'll just meet once more between now and the day before when<br>Sirius and I go into the Slytherin common room.'

Gideon looked concerned again. 'I still don't know how you're going to manage  
>that,' he said.<p>

'Trust us,' Sirius said. 'It'll be a piece of cake.'

'I would have thought you'd say 'eclaire',' Remus said in an amused tone.

'Alright everyone. Disburse,' James said, waving his wand at the pin up board  
>so the pictures disappeared once more.<p>

*

It was late in the evening. James was sitting down by the fire once again,  
>unable to sleep. For once, it was not due to his thoughts trailing back to<br>Rochefort. His mind was now filled with excitement at the prospect of the  
>looming Cup Match and their soon-to-follow retribution on the Slytherin gang.<p>

'Can't sleep?' Sirius said as he came up behind James and sat down on another  
>chair.<p>

James nodded. 'You?'

Sirius nodded too. 'This is the most fun I've ever had,' he said with a grin.

James smiled. 'It's going to be pretty good,' he said. 'Sirius...you're sure  
>your parents won't take the mickey out of you for doing this?'<p>

Sirius' face darkened. 'They do it plenty without having any reason for it,' he  
>said. 'Sometimes I think I should just scarper. I don't think they'd mind.'<p>

'You could come live with us. That is, if I knew where home was right about  
>now,' James said.<p>

'Still not much word from your parents?' Sirius asked.

James sighed. 'Just that they'll be there to pick me up at Platform 9 and 3/4  
>when we get back. They're really busy with making sure the place is secure and<br>safe...I think Dad may have gone a little paranoid.'

'Hard to blame him,' Sirius said. 'My father is the same, but for different  
>reasons. He has also sorts of protective enchantments set around the house. I<br>just pray he starts to get forgetful in his old age and accidentally catches  
>himself in one of them,' he said with a chuckle.<p>

'You're sure you want to include Regulus in this prank?' James asked slowly.

Sirius nodded fervently. 'My head still hurts from that curse he sent my way,'  
>he said angrily.<p>

'It was meant for me,' James said.

'Just as bad,' Sirius replied. 'He's chosen his lot, and I've chosen mine.'

James nodded. 'As long as you're sure,' he said.

'You going soft?' Sirius asked with a smile.

'Course not,' James replied. 'Just making sure that you're not going soft  
>either!'<p>

Sirius chuckled. 'Seriously, James. Thanks. I don't know where I'd be right now  
>if it weren't for you.'<p>

'You'd be just as good,' James said strongly.

Sirius smiled. 'Maybe I'd have ended up in Slytherin,' he said faintly.

James leaned in. 'You didn't want to be in Slytherin. Even before we met,' he  
>added. 'You're a good person. You're not like your family. You didn't need me<br>to tell you that.'

'I am like my family. I'm like you,' Sirius added.

James grinned. 'That's the spirit,' he said as he clapped Sirius on the  
>shoulder.<p>

The day of the Quidditch Final began early. James awoke before dawn; the sky  
>was just beginning to turn pink outside. James slipped out of bed, tip-toed<br>past the sleeping forms of Remus, Peter and Sirius (the latter of which was  
>snoring loudly) and down into the common room. He found Frank, dressed in full<br>Quidditch gear, sitting by the fire.

'Alright, Longbottom?' James asked cheerily.

Frank looked up at him with a smile. 'This is pretty big,' he said. 'I can't  
>believe I almost considered not playing.'<p>

'You're welcome,' James quipped as the door to the girls' dormitory opened.  
>Alice and Dorcas emerged together. 'Morning, Captain! Alice,' James added as<br>they came down into the common room.

'Looks like we'll have a clear day,' Dorcas observed in a nervous tone. 'That  
>bodes well for us. I did some scouting on their team-like Cresswell said last<br>time, they're big. And they're extraordinarily mean. Their Seeker is a tree  
>trunk named Nott.'<p>

'Nott?' Alice echoed.

'He's slow, but he's dirty,' Dorcas warned. 'Just keep your wits about you,  
>Alice.'<p>

'We'll take care of him,' Fabian said as he and Gideon emerged from the boys'  
>dormitory. 'He'll have trouble following you around if we keep sending bludgers<br>his way.'

'Good plan,' Dorcas nodded. 'James, Frank...just do your thing. You know how  
>weak Malfoy is at flying, just try to exploit him.'<p>

'Can do,' James said. 'Now where's Cresswell?'

'Wanted five more minutes of sleep,' Gideon said with a slightly bashful look  
>at Dorcas. 'Said he plays better when he's more well rested.'<p>

Dorcas sighed. 'At least we know he'll be on when it counts,' she said. 'How's  
>everyone feeling?'<p>

Everyone murmured their positive feelings. 'Anyone need breakfast before we  
>go?' James asked.<p>

'Food won't be in the hall for another few hours,' Dorcas replied.

'I mean straight from the kitchens,' James said.

All eyes turned to him. 'You know where the kitchens are?' Gideon and Fabian  
>asked as one.<p>

'We've been searching for it,' Gideon added.

'Since our first year,' Fabian said.

Alice looked at James with a sly look. James knew full well that she knew where  
>it was too. 'Should I take that as a 'yes, we'd like some food'?' he asked.<p>

Everyone nodded fervently. 'Alright, meet you guys at the pitch in a few  
>minutes. Alice, why don't you come help me out?' James said with a grin at the<br>seeker. Alice agreed and they strode off to the kitchens while the rest of the team went down to the pitch.

'So how do you know about the kitchens?' Alice asked.

James grinned. 'Sorry, I don't rat on my friends,' he said with ease.

'Aren't you going to ask me how I know?' she asked.

'I think I have a fairly good guess,' James replied as they approached the portrait of the bowl of fruit. 'And my guesses are usually right.'

'Oh really?' Alice asked. 'Then how did I find it?'

James smiled. 'I would assume Lily showed you.'

Alice looked surprised for a moment and then laughed. 'You really do know more than you ought to. Did she tell you that?'

'Of course not,' James said. 'Lily prefers not to talk to me unless it's to tell me I'm a prat.'

Alice chuckled as they walked into the kitchen. James requested a light quantity of food-some pumpkin juice, some buttered toast and some hard boiled eggs. 'We need energy, but not enough food to weigh us down,' he observed.

'Are you really head over heels for Lily?' Alice asked suddenly.

James looked at her in surprise. 'I like her a lot,' he said.

'It's not just an act?' Alice pressed.

James laughed. 'Why would I act about something like that?'

'I don't know, to bug her?' Alice said. 'It's hard to tell sometimes whether you're serious or not.'

'I'm not Sirius, I'm James,' James joked. Alice rolled her eyes. 'I do like Lily a lot,' he said. 'But she doesn't take me seriously.'

Alice snorted. 'Like I said, sometimes that's hard.'

'But not all the time,' James replied.

'No, not all the time,' Alice said as they left the kitchens. She stopped in her tracks at the sound of raised voices coming from a nearby classroom. James motioned for her to be silent and they listened.

'...I can assure you, Cristobal, that Hogwarts is quite safe,' came the calm tone of Albus Dumbledore.

'That does me little comfort,' came the agitated voice of Professor Mondego. 'This is the fifth time they have tried to make contact with me. They are saying if I do not reply at once-'

'-that they will use force,' Dumbledore finished in that same calm voice. 'But as I said, Hogwarts is quite safe.'

'That wasn't much help for Artemis Bowen,' Mondego said in a challenging tone.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. 'A terrible tragedy,' he said. 'But one we have taken measures to prevent ever happening again.'

'Color me unconvinced,' Mondego said in an acid tone. 'I am beginning to wonder if I would be better off leaving the school and disappearing on my own.'

'That is your option,' Dumbledore said slowly. 'Although I would implore you against it. Lord Voldemort is not foolish enough to attack the school directly.'

Mondego snorted. 'You think him a coward?'

'I do,' Dumbledore said flatly. 'There are things in this world which Lord Voldemort does not wish to face. I happen to be one of them, hence why I am requesting that you stay close.'

'He may be afraid to stay away, but his lieutenants aren't,' Mondego said.

'And as I said, the school is now better protected than it once was. And Professor Bowen may not have met his maker were it not for students being outside the castle after curfew,' Dumbledore said.

'And what action has been taken to prevent that, hm?' Mondego challenged.

'I am confident that the students involved have learned from the experience,' Dumbledore said and James felt somewhat guilty-they hadn't stopped their night time excursions in the least.

'I remain unconvinced, Dumbledore,' Mondego said coldly. 'Be warned. I may well take my leave of this place at the end of the year.'

James motioned for Alice to hurry along as the door suddenly opened and Mondego stormed out. He didn't pay any mind to James and Alice as he stormed along the corridor and out of sight.

'James?' came Dumbledore's voice from behind them. James and Alice turned to see him standing in the doorway.

'We were just headed to the Quidditch Pitch,' Alice said.

'With food?' Dumbledore said. For a moment, James was worried that they would be admonished for finding he kitchen, but James saw that familiar twinkle in Dumbledore's eye that he had come to realize was amusement.

'Breakfast,' Alice squeaked.

Dumbledore nodded. 'Off you go, then.'

They turned to leave.

'James?' Dumbledore called. They both turned around once again to see Dumbledore smile at them. 'Good luck to you both.'


	21. Cups and Magic

21

The sounds of the stadium overhead were absolutely deafening. Even from the dressing room, it was readily apparent that the crowd was heavily tilted in Gryffindor's favour. The Slytherins were not going down quietly, however, as they did their level best to drown out the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws with their own cheering and jeering.

'This is it, everyone,' Dorcas said nervously for the eighth time. 'The Cup is in sight.'

'It's in the stadium,' Gideon observed.

'We saw McGonagall carrying it in,' Fabian added.

Dorcas looked faintly green and, for a moment, James worried that she had been poisoned again. She quickly regained her normal color, however, and exhaled slowly. 'Win or lose, you've been a great time this year. This has been a great year, I mean,' she stammered.

'Getting all mushy on us, Captain?' yawned Cresswell from his corner of the room. Dorcas glared at him but he winked at her, causing her to turn slightly pink. 'Relax, this will be in the bag.'

'Slytherin are short on skill but big on brutality,' Dorcas said, ignoring Cresswell. 'Their game plan is going to be pretty simple-send as many of us to Madam Pomfrey as they can.'

'They're welcome to try,' Fabian said confidently.

Dorcas smiled. 'What they aren't counting on,' she continued, 'is our speed. They might be stronger, but we're faster. We have the quickest seeker in the school in Alice.'

'Stop, I'm blushing,' Alice said in a foppish accent to a chuckle from the room.

'We have three Chasers who can move the quaffle faster than most wizards or witches can fly,' Dorcas continued.

James and Frank high fived each other. Cresswell waved lazily from his side of the room.

'We have two Beaters who lethally hit their bludgers,' Dorcas went on to a cheer from Gideon and Fabian.

'And there's you, Captain,' James added. 'The unbeatable keeper.'

Dorcas smiled. 'Just remember-keep your heads up, watch out for their bludgers, and score as many points as you can.'

'What does our victory margin have to be again?' Frank asked, although everyone already knew.

'Sixty points,' Dorcas replied automatically. 'Sixty points is all that separates us from the first Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor in four years! And let me tell you,' she said with a dreamy gaze. She and Cresswell were the only current members of the team who had lifted the Cup that year. 'It's incredible.'

Cresswell sat up straight, apparently inspired by the memory. 'Well, we haven't got all day,' he said in a suddenly bracing tone. James knew that he had put his game face on. 'Let's go out and greet the masses.'

'Let's go Gryffindor!' Dorcas shouted to whoops from the rest of the team and they filed out of the dressing room towards the Quidditch Pitch.

The noise was deafening; James was not entirely sure how the student body had managed to continue yelling at what must have been the top of their lungs for this long a time. He cast his eyes about the stadium and caught sight of Sirius. Evidently, he hadn't been able to knick Professor Flitwick's orchestra a second time-this might have had something to do with the fact that Flitwick himself was sitting right next to him, probably to keep an eye out.

Remus and Peter were seated one over, with a well crafted sign saying 'Hit them where it hurts, James!-right in the nose!'

And then, just a few seats over, James spotted Lily. She was waving at Snape on the Slytherin team, and for a moment James felt slightly crestfallen. But she then turned her gaze and spotted him. She gave him a lopsided grin and offered him a thumbs up, and James suddenly felt as if he was floating on a cloud. He turned his gaze to survey the Slytherin team; he spotted Snape glaring foully at him and he blew him a kiss, which made Snape look even angrier.

Malfoy was approaching the center of the pitch for the Captains' handshake. Mulciber and Avery were cracking their knuckles in a threatening fashion. Nott was glaring at Alice, who wasn't backing away in the slightest.

'How does your broom support that enormous backside?' Alice said with a smirk as Nott glowered at her.

'I hope you like the hospital wing,' he shot back.

Alice's smirk deepened. 'Is that where they'll be awarding the Cup to us?'

'Now, now,' Madam Hooch said as she passed between the two on her way to Dorcas and Malfoy. 'Keep your brooms on the pitch, now everyone. I want a good clean game. Captains, shake hands.'

Neither Malfoy nor Dorcas made a move to extend their arm. 'Keep your head up, Meadowes,' Malfoy said in an acid tone.

Dorcas raised an eyebrow. 'Is that Arthur Weasley who's come to watch?' she asked.

Malfoy whipped around to scan the stadium and Dorcas laughed, joined by the rest of the Gryffindor team. Malfoy turned back to her, glaring daggers and slightly red. 'I said shake hands,' Madam Hooch said in a threatening tone.

Dorcas and Malfoy slapped at each other's hands once angrily and stormed off in opposite directions.

'Alright, everyone. Good clean game...game on!' Madam Hooch said and she opened the box, releasing the Quaffle and the Snitch into the air. James kicked off the ground and shot upwards at top speed, grabbing the quaffle. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and found Rosier was closing in quickly. James shot up into the sky and then dove down once again; the rapid change of direction shook Rosier and James spotted Cresswell streaking along the middle of the pitch. James whipped the quaffle to him and Cresswell zoomed in on Malfoy and Snape.

Snape slammed a bludger towards Cresswell who quickly rolled to avoid it. Malfoy hit is in quick succession and Cresswell deftly jumped off of his broom, soaring through the air for a moment as the bludger flew underneath him, and then landed back upon it. The crowd 'oooh'd' with amazement as Cresswell then spotted a streaking Frank Longbottom with a pass, sending Frank in alone. The stadium rose to its feet as Frank feinted left and then rang the quaffle off the opposite side of the hoop and through for the first point of the game. Ten to zero for Gryffindor.

'That was seriously impressive, Cresswell!' James shouted over the din as Cresswell flew by.

'Wotcher, James-here they come!' Cresswell said, all business.

James turned to see Mulciber and Avery flying as guards in front of Rosier who held the quaffle. James spared a quick look back and ducked as Gideon slammed a bludger towards them. It whistled over James' head and straight at Rosier, but Mulciber deflected it at the last moment so it sailed over his head. Frank rocketed forward, ducking under a swiping arm from Avery and closing in on Rosier, when a bludger struck by Snape caught him in the arm, sending him cart wheeling away.

Mulciber and Avery suddenly flew forward, catching James and Cresswell off guard and forcing them to scatter. Rosier darted between the Prewetts and heaved the quaffle at the left-side hoop, but Dorcas quickly appeared in front of it to catch it. She heaved the quaffle forward to James, who caught it in mid flight and curved back towards the Slytherin end.

Out of the corner of his eye, James spotted Frank headed down the opposite side. He curved towards the middle to draw the attention of both Snape and Malfoy, who hit their bludgers at him in rapid succession.

James at once realized his mistake-he was not in a position to dodge them both. He quickly dove and hurled the quaffle as hard as he could towards Frank before the second bludger struck him hard in the midsection. James was carried backwards for what felt like several feet as the momentum of the bludger transferred to him. He struggled to maintain his grip on his broom when something impacted on top of his head, sending him crashing down towards the stands below.

'Foul!' he heard Cresswell shouting in anger, but the next thing he knew, he was plowing into the stadium seating. He barely avoided having his arm caught under some rolling chairs and he laid there for a moment. Students had scattered out of the way as he came down and they now gathered around him.

'Potter! You alright? That was foul-Mulciber hit you in the head!' Edgar Bones was saying in righteous anger.

'Do you need the hospital wing?' asked another anxious student.

James stood, grimacing in pain. His vision was sparked with stars, but he could still make out everything that was going on. 'He's mine,' James snarled and he kicked back into the air with a roar from the crowd.

Frank's rush had been stopped by Flint, who was having a strong start to the game.

'Your head alright, Potter?' Snape taunted from his end. James ignored him, focusing on the play developing before them. Once again, Mulciber and Avery were acting as front-guards for Rosier, who had the quaffle. They passed it idly between each other and James saw his opportunity.

He sunk down low to the pitch until he was under them and waited for the quaffle to return to Mulciber.

James pulled into an upwards vertical climb and smashed his shoulder directly into Mulciber's chin. With his other arm, he caught the quaffle that squirted loose from Mulciber's grasp as he did this and he passed it to Cresswell who relayed to Frank, who sped away in the opposite direction.

James looked down to see Mulciber sinking towards the ground, shaking his head to clear it. Malfoy was yelling at Madam Hooch for a penalty, but she shook her head. 'He had the quaffle, it was fair!' she yelled.

The game continued in close fashion. It remained ten to nothing for Gryffindor for some time, with both Flint and Dorcas making excellent saves. It wasn't until nearly an hour had passed that Slytherin managed to even the score on a bizarre planned play.

James had just been stopped by Flint who had made a particularly acrobatic save. He launched the quaffle to Malfoy who suddenly raced ahead out of position. Snape did the same, momentarily taking James by surprise before he raced after them.

Malfoy whipped the quaffle to Rosier. Rosier dodged a bludger that was struck by Gideon, and James saw the plan unfold before it even happened.

Snape and Malfoy struck their bludgers simultaneously towards the middle hoop, just as Rosier launched the quaffle towards it. Dorcas did her level best to slip between the two bludgers, but one caught her just in the front and the other in the back, spinning her off balance and causing her to fall from her broom. The quaffle sailed through the hoop, and Gideon and Fabian looped low to catch Dorcas and her broomstick as the Slytherins roared.

'Come on!' Frank was yelling. 'That was blatant intent to injure!'

Madam Hooch remained tight lipped as the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws shouted their disapproval. James set his jaw and flew back to grab the quaffle. He rounded about and took off at top speed straight towards Rosier.

Rosier looked momentarily stunned and then ducked out of the way as James flew past him. He weaved and bobbed past the sluggish Mulciber and Avery and found himself flying in on Malfoy and Snape, who whacked their bludgers at him.

James abruptly turned into a dive and then flew back upwards. Snape reached out an arm to catch him and James grinned, suddenly veering left and body checking the off balance Snape right off of his broom. Malfoy lunged forward and James bobbed upward, striking Malfoy in the back with his boot and sending him similarly towards the ground as he roared in alone on Flint.

Flint charged out aggressively to cut down the angle, but James had drawn all of the attention to himself. He caught Frank with a pass and Frank easily deposited the quaffle into the hoop-twenty to ten. Frank turned with a cheer, and his face suddenly changed.

'The snitch!' he shouted, pointing.

Alice had already spotted it and was climbing high and fast. Nott was chasing close behind her as they rose into the sky. The entire stadium had stopped to watch as Alice reached her hand out for the snitch-it looked like a sure thing.

But Nott reached out a hand and grabbed her broom, hauling her backwards. He used his impressive upper body strength to hurl her broom back down behind is-now it looked like a sure thing that he would get there first.

But Alice was not so easily dissuaded; as Nott hauled her broom past his, she leapt off of it altogether. The crowd gasped as she landed on Nott's back. He swatted at her angrily with his free hand, but she quickly scaled his back until she was standing on her shoulders. Nott realized what was about to happen and tried to turn into a dive, but it was too late.

Alice had leapt from his shoulders, caught the snitch in one hand, and was now in a free fall.

The crowd didn't seem to know whether to cheer or gasp. James dove hard towards the middle of the pitch. He had ample time to climb under her and catch her-but he was suddenly struck upside the head with a bludger that sent him cart wheeling into the stadium again. He was momentarily senseless, only aware that hands were trying to help him into a sitting position. He looked up, but it looked like there was twelve of everything.

'Alice!' James shouted. 'Alice!'

'It's okay, mate!' Sirius' voice suddenly came in his ear. 'Longbottom's got her! We've won! And look!'

Sirius hauled James to his feet and he tried to focus on what was going on.

Hagrid and Madam Hooch were in the thick of a mess between Gideon and Fabian Prewett and the entire Slytherin quidditch team. Malfoy was nursing a bleeding nose, Snape was lying on the ground in a fetal position, and the Prewetts were still trying to get at Mulciber and Avery.

'Snape cracked you in the head with that bludger,' Remus' voice came from James' other side. 'The Prewetts went mental and went straight for him. Luckily Frank paid attention to Alice.'

'Come on, let's help Gideon and Fabian!' Sirius said hotly.

James gripped him. 'No,' he said. 'It's being broken up. Let's get to the team.'

He was right; Hagrid had successfully gotten Gideon and Fabian to go to the other end of the pitch, with severe admonishments from Madam Hooch as they did so, although James thought he saw a hint of a smile on her face.

Frank and Alice were at the center of a team embrace at the other end. Dorcas and Cresswell were wrapped around them, cheering madly as the swells of the crowd joined in. James staggered over to them and accepted a clap on the back from Cresswell who whooped with glee. They were quickly joined by Gideon and Fabian who hoisted Alice into the air for the school to see. She pumped her arms happily.

Professor McGonagall had brought the Quidditch Cup to the center of the field as the school gathered round. She made to hand it to Dorcas, but Dorcas motioned for the team to come over and accept it as one. They held it high above their heads and cheered as the rest of the school converged upon them in their moment of glory.

*

James' own moment of glory was somewhat short-lived. He was whisked off the hospital wing fairly quickly after he nearly collapsed under the weight of the trophy. Madam Pomfrey was furious as she looked him over. 'What kind of match was Madam Hooch calling, anyway?' she snarled. 'I'd say you easily have a fractured skull. Some ribs, too. How many bludgers hit you?'

'Uh, the one, I think,' James said. He looked over to the side of the room. The other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were all there, gazing at the cup fondly and chattering excitedly.

'Only for you, Potter,' Madam Pomfrey sighed, glaring at the visitors with disapproval. 'I can mend the bones right away, but I'm worried about a concussion. So no going to sleep for a little while.'

James smiled. 'I wouldn't dream of it,' he said. 'How are you doing, Captain?' he asked.

Dorcas smiled. Madam Pomfrey had insisted on checking her out after she'd heard that she had been struck by two bludgers. 'Wonderful,' she sighed, staring at the Cup with a look she usually reserved for Cresswell. 'Absolutely wonderful.'

James grinned again as the door to the hospital wing opened. Sirius, Remus and Peter strolled in. 'Sorry, we had to give everyone updates. They want to know when you're going to be back so the party can start,' Sirius said cheerily.

'Party?' Madam Pomfrey asked sharply.

'Er, study party,' Remus said quickly and somewhat convincingly. Madam Pomfrey huffed and went back to her office.

'How are you feeling?' Peter asked urgently.

James waved an arm. 'I'm fine. I was just a bit light headed...apparently I broke my skull.'

Sirius whistled. 'At least Snape aimed for the biggest part of your body,' he joked. James swung at him but missed.

'Any sign of Lily?' James asked in what he hoped was an offhand tone.

Remus cleared his throat. 'Snape tried to talk to her after the match,' he said. 'She stormed off. None of us has seen her since.'

James felt a pang of guilt. 'Where's the map?' he whispered so the Quidditch team wouldn't see.

'I had a feeling he'd ask,' Sirius sighed as he produced the map from his pocket and gave it to James. James spared a quick glance around to make sure no one was looking and he spotted her-down in the kitchens.

'You guys get going back to the common room. Start the party. I'll meet you there,' James said.

*

James opened the door to the kitchen and heard a clang of dropped silverware as Lily stood with a start. 'It's alright, Evans,' he said with a smile. 'It's just me.'

'Oh,' Lily said miserably and she sat down. 'Come to gloat have you?'

'Gloat?' James echoed.

Lily sighed. 'About Sev. What he did was horrible...if Frank hadn't been right there, Alice would be a pancake right now.'

James stifled a laugh at the image of a pancake-Alice. 'It's just a game, Lily,' he tried, not entirely sure why he was defending Snape's actions.

'You're really excusing what Sev did?' she said hotly.

'You don't normally approve of me ripping on him,' James pointed out. 'It was stupid. It was dumb. Emotions were high and it happened...but everyone's alright.'

Lily sniffed. 'I don't know why I was ever friends with him,' she muttered.

'Sure you do,' James said, again mentally kicking himself for defending Snape to her. 'You said yourself you've been friends since you got your letter.'

Lily stared at her hands. 'He was just this link to a whole new world I never knew existed,' she said quietly. 'He was so interesting. Everything he told me sounded impossible, but it was all true...and he made me feel like I was born for it.'

'Well...you were,' James said.

'People like Voldemort don't think so,' Lily replied.

James sat down. 'Well, he's an idiot,' he said. 'Seriously. Anyone can be born into a pure-blood family like me. But to be a witch, born to muggles? You talk about being born for it, that seems like a good case to me.'

Lily smiled faintly. 'And now here I am talking about my feelings to you of all people,' she said. 'You and Sev can be more alike than you realize.'

'Words hurt, you know,' James said sarcastically.

'You're both capable of being so...nice,' she said. 'But you're also capable of being a-a-'

'-toerag?' James supplied helpfully.

Lily smiled. 'I know what you're doing, Potter. Thanks.'

James shrugged. 'You'd do the same for me,' he said brightly. She raised an eyebrow at him. 'Oh don't give me that look,' he said with a smirk. 'Who was by my sickbed when I was attacked?'

Lily flushed. 'I was just checking on you!'

'Right,' James replied with a wink. 'Evans, come on. There's a party in the common room right now and everyone would want you to be there.'

'I don't feel like it,' she said.

James knelt down beside her. 'One of your best friends just made a play that people are going to be talking about for years,' he said earnestly. 'Don't you want to be there for her in her big moment?'

Lily looked at James. 'I don't get you, Potter,' she said. 'One moment you have me wanting to tear my hair out, and then you act like this.'

James motioned for her to go to the door. 'It's a kind of magic,' he said with a warm smile, one which she returned. 


	22. Statues and Fireworks

22

The next few weeks passed by in a surreal blur. For the most part, the teachers  
>of the school were in extremely good moods. James and other members of the<br>Gryffindor Quidditch team kept winning points for doing the most mundane  
>tasks-but no one begrudged them. The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs were<br>sharing in the victory as well, as Slytherin was nearly universally reviled.

'I still can't believe that catch that Alice made,' Edgar Bones gushed one day  
>after Transfiguration. 'She could probably have a career as a Professional<br>Quidditch Player! Then again, you all probably could!'

There were members of the faculty who weren't entirely enthused. Professor  
>Slughorn, Potions master and head of Slytherin house, was relatively<br>downcast-but being that he had favorite students from every house, this didn't  
>impact Gryffindor in a negative way.<p>

Professor Mondego, on the other hand, seemed to have further degenerated as a  
>result. Where before he had been somewhat passive aggressive, he was now prone<br>to shouting in the class and giving detentions for looking at him the wrong  
>way. James suspected this was not entirely due to Quidditch, but the<br>conversation he had overheard him having with Dumbledore.

James confided this to Sirius, Remus and Peter late one night. Sirius whistled.  
>'You think he's really going to set off on his own?' he asked.<p>

'I don't know...it sounded like he was thinking about it,' James said.

'That would be foolish,' Remus pointed out. 'There can't be anywhere safer than  
>under Dumbledore's watch.'<p>

'What makes you so sure?' gulped Peter.

'You need to read between the lines,' Remus explained. 'The Prophet-and for  
>that matter, the Ministry-are not releasing any information about Voldemort or<br>what he's up to. They don't want to declare him a criminal as he hasn't  
>personally been caught in any wrongdoing, unlike Rochefort.'<p>

James' eyes narrowed at the mention of the name.

'But it's clear that Dumbledore is a rallying point. They make frequent mention  
>of him as the most gifted and powerful wizard of all time,' Remus finished.<p>

Peter looked somewhat mollified. 'I don't think I'd mind if Professor Mondego  
>left after this year,' he mumbled.<p>

Sirius chuckled. 'None of us would,' he replied.

'But if Voldemort gets his hands on him, it would be bad for us, wouldn't it?'  
>James asked. 'He's supposed to be the most gifted Occlumens in history. If<br>Voldemort gets him to share his secrets...'

'Mondego is a slippery bloke. It wouldn't surprise me if he could find a spot  
>to hide out until things blow over,' Sirius said. That ended the conversation<br>for the time being.

As the end of term approached, it became clear that not everyone was revelling  
>in Gryffindor's victory. Snape and Lily's friendship was on the rocks-he had<br>made a habit of camping out outside the Gryffindor common room until she  
>emerged, and then followed her around begging her to listen to him or talk to<br>him. Sirius had been tempted to hex him on more than a few occasions, but James  
>had stopped him.<p>

'We'll get our payoff soon enough,' he told Sirius as they walked past the  
>scowling Snape one day.<p>

'I've been meaning to ask you about that,' Remus said. 'You and Lily seem to be  
>pretty friendly at the moment.'<p>

'Yeah,' James replied, not liking where this was going.

Remus crossed his arms. 'So how do you think she's going to react when we pull  
>this prank off?'<p>

Sirius and Peter did their best to look at James while trying to make it look  
>like they weren't. James chewed his lip. 'She's going to hit the ceiling,' he<br>said.

'And you're okay with that?' Remus asked with an impassive expression.

James crossed his arms too. 'Do I need to list all of the things Snape has done  
>to us and our friends?'<p>

'That's not what I'm saying,' Remus said, exasperation creeping into his tone.  
>'This isn't about you and Snape, it's about you and Lily. You're going to make<br>her furious-probably angrier than you've ever seen her before, and that's  
>saying something.'<p>

James chewed on this for a moment. 'I'll have another five years to make it up  
>to her,' he said at last. 'Snape can't go unpunished.'<p>

'Is a schoolboy grudge worth that?' Remus asked.

'This isn't just a schoolboy grudge,' James said hotly. 'This isn't just about  
>bludgers being whacked at me, or cheap shots in Quidditch. I know that these<br>guys are in with the Death Eaters-Malfoy knew Rochefort was at the school that  
>day. We're not just fighting a school bully, here, we're fighting Voldemort!'<p>

'There's no proof that Snape knows what Malfoy does,' Remus pointed out.

'Oh come off it, Moony,' Sirius said impatiently. 'That little gang is always  
>hanging around each other; you think they don't know exactly what they're<br>getting into? And are you forgetting that they ambushed James AND Lily?'

Remus sighed. 'Of course not,' he said.

'Are you wanting out?' James asked. 'We can handle the prank without you.'

James, Sirius and Peter looked at Remus who shook his head. 'Marauders stick  
>together,' he said at last. 'I just want you to know-I think you're setting<br>yourself up for a whole lot of trouble with Lily.'

'I understand,' James said. 'But this is bigger than me and Lily.'

'If you say so,' Remus muttered.

*

The day before the prank arrived. Once curfew passed, James, Sirius, Remus and  
>Peter retired up to their dormitory where James fetched his invisibility cloak<br>from his trunk. Remus handed a carefully folded piece of parchment to Sirius.

'You need to do exactly as this says,' Remus said. 'Exactly. I don't think I  
>need to tell you the consequences if this charm isn't pulled off correctly.'<p>

Sirius waved a hand. 'I've got it,' he muttered. 'Ready to go, James?' he asked.

James grinned. 'I was born ready,' he said.

'Be careful,' Peter said worriedly.

'Just remember to do your part, Peter. Let's roll,' Sirius said as he and James  
>swooped under the invisibility cloak. 'See you in a bit, Moony!' he added as<br>Remus waved to where he thought they were. The two of them followed Peter out  
>of the dormitory and down the stairs. They waited by the portrait hole as Peter<br>walked over to Lily, who was sitting and studying by the fire.

'Excuse me,' Peter said in a meek tone.

'Hi, Peter. What's up?' Lily asked, looking up from her homework.

'I heard someone say that Sn-Sn-Severus is outside and he wants to talk to  
>you,' he stammered.<p>

Lily sighed. 'Again?' she muttered and she stood up. 'Thanks, Peter,' she said  
>and she walked over to the portrait hole and opened it, stepping through.<p>

James and Sirius quickly followed after her into the hallway. James spared a  
>glance back at her as she looked around for any sign of Snape, who of course<br>was not there. She shrugged, evidently convincing herself that he had gone back  
>to his dormitory, and went back in.<p>

'Nice play,' Sirius whispered.

'You have the map?' James hissed.

Sirius brought it out of his robes and tapped it with his wand. 'Lumos,' he  
>muttered.<p>

'Any Slytherins wandering about?' James asked.

Sirius nodded. 'Malfoy is one corridor downstairs. He must be doing rounds. Oh,  
>how I'd love to hex him...'<p>

'Resist that urge,' James said. 'We need to follow him into the Slytherin  
>common room. Let's go.'<p>

They took off at a brisk walk. As the map informed them that no one else was  
>near them, they didn't take particular care to conceal their sounds until they<br>got downstairs. They began to move more quietly as Lucius Malfoy's wiry frame  
>came into view.<p>

James felt his blood boil; even the sight of Malfoy's stupid pointy face was  
>enough to make him angry. He soothed himself with thoughts of how that face<br>would look tomorrow once their revenge was exacted. They followed him around  
>for what felt like an hour before he made his way down towards the dungeons. He<br>stopped in front of a wall with Sirius and James right behind. They waited as  
>Lucius checked over his shoulders to make sure no one was there.<p>

'Parseltongue,' Malfoy said clearly and the wall suddenly formed into a  
>passageway. They quickly followed Malfoy in as the entrance closed behind them.<br>They walked behind him for several minutes until they arrived in a low-ceiling,  
>green-lit common room.<p>

Not many people were still awake, but to James' delight, all of their targets  
>were sitting on dark green leather sofas. Snape, Mulciber, Avery and Regulus<br>looked up at Malfoy as he arrived.

'Uneventful?' Snape asked.

'Unfortunately,' Malfoy said with a sigh as he sat down. 'I so hoped I would  
>run into Meadowes. I'd welcome the opportunity to glue her mouth shut.'<p>

Regulus laughed maniacally and Sirius hissed from next to James, who elbowed  
>him lightly in the ribs.<p>

'Then again, I wouldn't mind the opportunity to run into that mudblood friend  
>of yours, Severus,' Malfoy added with a shrewd look at Snape.<p>

Snape's face was unreadable as he stared back at Malfoy who chuckled. 'No  
>matter. If all goes well, she will come to see that your way is the correct<br>one.'

Snape nodded stiffly and stared at the fire. James tugged Sirius along as he  
>spotted the door to the boys' dormitory. Fortunately for them it was ajar. They<br>slid into the room and quickly made their way to the dormitory belonging to  
>Snape, Mulciber, Avery and Regulus.<p>

'Be quick. When Malfoy goes to the Head Boy dormitory, we need to be there,'  
>James hissed.<p>

They quickly opened the trunks of the four boys, taking care to extract the  
>undergarments contained in them. Sirius unfolded the piece of parchment that<br>Remus had given him and muttered the incantation exactly-with James looking  
>over his shoulder to make doubly sure. Once they had finished with all of them,<br>they carefully put the undergarments back.

'I need a bath,' Sirius said in a nauseated voice.

James looked thoughtful. 'What if they don't change their underwear?' he  
>whispered.<p>

Sirius looked repulsed. 'Beg pardon?'

'What if they don't change their underwear? The charm would be useless,' James  
>clarified.<p>

Sirius shrugged. 'Well, it would serve them right for not changing their  
>underwear. Come on!'<p>

They made their way back into the common room just as Malfoy was standing up.  
>'Last day of school tomorrow,' he said airily. 'What say that we make life a<br>little difficult for those I am leaving behind?' he said with a raised eyebrow.

Mulciber and Avery chuckled darkly.

'What do you have in mind?' Regulus asked eagerly.

'I think the Gryffindor Quidditch Team could be brought back down to earth.  
>That is, if Severus here isn't afraid of the mudblood's wrath,' he added.<p>

Severus looked coldly back at him. 'I am not,' he said.

'Good. Tomorrow morning we'll discuss the finer points. Good night,' Malfoy  
>said and he made to leave, with Sirius and James in tow. 'Good thing we're<br>getting him before he gets us,' Sirius hissed as they exited the passageway  
>back into the school.<p>

It was another long walk to the base of the Astronomy tower when they found  
>themselves face to face with the portrait of Sir Cadogan.<p>

'Oi, you knave!' said Cadogan, wide awake despite the hour. 'Declare your  
>intentions! State your purpose! Show your arms if you have them!'<p>

'Flourish and Botts, you silly little moron,' Malfoy said coldly and the  
>portrait swung open.<p>

'Come back here and say that!' Cadogan shouted from where his portrait faced  
>the wall. James and Sirius followed Malfoy into the Head Boy and Girl's common<br>room.

It was a massive, sweeping room-easily bigger than either the Gryffindor or  
>Slytherin rooms. It had a large, domed ceiling that was enchanted to show the<br>sky much like the great hall was. Comfortable looking chairs were gathered  
>around a lightly crackling fire. Two staircases lead to the respective<br>dormitories for the Head Boy and Head Girl.

James realized with a start that he had no idea who the Head Girl was this  
>year, but whoever she was, she had very clearly gone up to bed. James could<br>hardly blame her; the prospect of spending time alone with Lucius Malfoy was  
>enough to make him feel physically ill.<p>

Malfoy went and sat by the fire, idly flicking through some papers. James noted  
>that they certainly didn't belong to him, and likely belonged to the Head Girl.<br>Now it was Sirius' turn to nudge him as they quietly made their way up the  
>steps to the boys' dormitory. They entered and found everything in neat order.<br>Malfoy was clearly mostly packed to depart the school the next day.

'Make it quick,' James hissed.

Sirius opened the drawers to a large chest next to the bed and discovered one  
>change of clothes neatly prepared for the next day. He separated Lucius'<br>underwear from the rest and muttered the incantation Remus had given him  
>carefully.<p>

James checked outside the door as they made to leave the dormitory and was  
>nearly bowled over by it opening inwards. Lucius stepped in-Sirius and James<br>quickly scrambled out as Lucius closed the door behind him. James grabbed  
>Sirius, who nearly fell backwards down the staircase as they waited, holding<br>their breath, hoping that Lucius hadn't noticed anything.

'Let's get out of here,' Sirius hissed. They made their way across the common  
>room and out the door into the castle.<p>

*

The next morning arrived. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter went about their  
>morning routines quietly. They dressed and went down to the common room<br>together, nodding at Gideon and Fabian who were leaving the dormitory for the  
>great hall. James noticed that their school bags were slightly more bulgy<br>today, and was pleased that no one else seemed to take notice.

Remus' bag was similarly weighed down, but he made no signs of noticing as they  
>made their way down to the great hall for breakfast, where they were met<br>cheerily by Lily and Alice. They sat and ate their breakfast in relative  
>silence and focus as Dorcas and Cresswell sat across the table from them,<br>Dorcas yammering excitedly about next year's team and Cresswell idly nodding  
>along to everything she said.<p>

With the year end tests complete, classes were mostly to be a formality that  
>day. Professor McGonagall had told them the previous day that they would simply<br>be doing an assignment for fun (she had almost choked on the last word), but  
>James and the others had already known that the class would never get an<br>opportunity to take place.

As they stood from the breakfast table, James cast a glance across the hall. He  
>caught sight of Snape, Regulus, Mulciber, Avery and Malfoy sitting together in<br>hushed tones. James knew they were likely planning an ambush of some sorts on  
>him and his teammates. He spotted Gideon and Fabian Prewett next-both were<br>looking at him for the signal.

James tapped his nose once and began to move.

The Prewetts immediately left out the door to the Great Hall. Remus muttered a  
>hushed excuse to the people he was eating with and did the same. James, Peter<br>and Sirius quickly followed. James cast one look back in the hall at Lily, who  
>looked at him and smiled. James gave his best confident smile back.<p>

'Right, Remus. Go do your thing,' James said once they were alone. 'Gideon,  
>Fabian-give him a five minute head start.'<p>

Remus took off down the hall, while the twins hid themselves in one of the  
>secret passageways that James had told them about. James, Sirius and Peter took<br>off at a run towards the base of Gryffindor tower and began to make their way  
>up.<p>

The great hall began to disburse. Gideon and Fabian watched from their place of  
>concealment as the students peeled out to head towards their classrooms. They<br>needed to allow enough time for the great hall to empty, but not for the  
>students to arrive at class-or it would become immediately apparently who was<br>absent.

Once the last trickles had emerged from the great hall, the wait was on.

Near the painting that lead into the kitchens, Remus opened his rucksack and  
>began emptying out the many products held within it. Prank products from<br>Zonko's Joke Shop that had evidently not been spared any expense. Remus sighed;  
>the firework in particular that he was looking for was certain to give more<br>than a few people a terrible scare-but he knew it was ultimately benign.

'FALSEFYRE - SIMULATES REAL FIENDFYRE! SEND YOUR FRIENDS RUNNING FOR THEIR  
>LIVES!' read the outside of the box. Remus sighed and pointed his wand at the<br>wick of the firework.

Gideon and Fabian sat in wait, when they heard the sound. At first it was a  
>dull roar, almost as if someone had allowed a river to come flowing through the<br>basement of the school. Wind began to rattle the walls of the great hall, and  
>they knew it was time to act.<p>

They leapt out from their hiding places and pointed their wands up at the  
>statues of Hogwarts. In their many explorations to find hidden passwords around<br>the school, James and Sirius had discovered an incantation which brought the  
>statues of Hogwarts to life and allowed them to do the bidding of the one who<br>called them to action.

'Piertortum locomotor!' Fabian cried, pointing his wand up at the statues. They  
>instantly leapt from their places down to the ground, turning their stone faces<br>to stare at Fabian. 'Fetch Malfoy, Regulus Black, Mulciber, Avery and Snape.  
>You are to bring them to the top of Gryffindor tower. And then...' he stated<br>clearly their final instructions. 'Now go!'

The statues immediately turned and ran; the sound of rushing wind was getting  
>louder now. Gideon looked momentarily worried.<p>

'Relax, it's falsefyre,' Fabian said. 'I only wish I could see the look on  
>Malfoy's face when a bunch of statues start chasing him around.'<p>

The fire suddenly rounded the corner, filling the entire hall. Gideon and  
>Fabian whooped as it rushed past them in a warm and tingling fashion. 'That's<br>got five minutes before it wears off!' Gideon called.

'Good thing we got Remus well stocked. Come on! Let's get outside,' Fabian said.

Remus was busy setting off all manners of fireworks. The Falsefyre had merely  
>been the starting point. He was a little disconcerted that the Twins had<br>provided him with one called "the tornado in a tube", and as he set it off, he  
>immediately regretted it. A massive tornado emerged and pelted down the<br>corridor, dislodging torches from their bearings. He sighed and continued to  
>set more off.<p>

*

James, Sirius and Peter peeked out from the top of the Gryffindor tower.  
>Students and teachers were streaming into the courtyard, and it was easy to see<br>why-all variety of sparks, bangs, flashes, flames and gusts were erupting from  
>the windows of the school. To an outside observer, it might almost look as<br>though the school was exploding from within.

'What if the statues don't catch them?' Peter whispered anxiously.

'I think they did,' Sirius said excitedly. 'Listen!'

There was indeed a cacophony of noise erupting from the base of the stairwell  
>leading up to the top of the tower. James quickly threw the Invisibility cloak<br>over himself, Sirius, Peter and their one last, custom made firework that they  
>had prepared.<p>

The statues of Hogwarts came into sight, each carrying one of the Slytherins.  
>Snape was being held upside down by his ankle, kicking and punching angrily.<br>Mulciber and Avery were in identical bear hugs, straining as hard as they could  
>against the hold of the statues.<p>

Sirius bit back guffaws as suddenly, the statues all pushed the Slytherins  
>forward and grabbed them by their undergarments. Malfoy gave an almighty scream<br>as the statue suddenly heaved him over the side of Gryffindor tower. James  
>peered down as Malfoy plummeted, his underwear stretching out behind him like<br>an absurd bungey cord as a result of the undetectable extension charms that he and Sirius had cast on them the night before. The school gasped below as Regulus, Snape, Mulciber and  
>Avery were quickly shoved over as well.<p>

James' concern about them not changing their underwear was unfounded-each of  
>their respective undergarments stretched out, allowing them to bob helplessly<br>near the ground and then bounce back up.

'Now, Peter! The icing on the cake!' Sirius said.

Peter pointed his wand at the final firework, muttered an incantation, and a  
>massive explosion fired up into the sky. James and Sirius peered up as a<br>firework-version of the visage of Arthur Weasley, expertly crafted by the  
>Prewetts, appeared in the sky, sticking its tongue out at the crowd below which<br>burst into applause. 'Come on, quick! We need to get down to join the others!'  
>James yelled.<p>

*

They slipped in amongst the other students before shucking the invisibility  
>cloak. It was quite a sight, looking at the five Slytherins hanging from<br>underwear as long as fire hoses from the Gryffindor tower. James chuckled at the  
>sight as Argus Filch reached out of one of the windows to try and reel one of<br>them in with a broomstick.

'Potter,' came a voice in James' ear and he turned to see Lily standing there.

'Alright, Evans?' he asked.

The slap was harder than the bludger that had struck his head. James staggered  
>and would have fallen over had he not bumped into Sirius, who steadied him.<p>

'You idiot,' Lily breathed. 'You complete, utter, total idiot.'

James rubbed his cheek, blinking a star out of his vision. 'I don't know what  
>you're talking about,' he said.<p>

'You're seriously telling me you had nothing to do with this?' she hissed,  
>looking quite demented.<p>

'Don't know what you're talking about,' James said again.

Lily grit her teeth and stormed off back towards the castle.

'That went well,' Remus murmured from behind them. Sirius looked at him in  
>surprise.<p>

'How did you get here without anyone noticing?' he asked.

Remus raised his eyebrows. 'A magician doesn't reveal his secrets,' he said.  
>'You alright?' he asked James.<p>

James looked at Lily's receding form for a moment and then up at Snape, who was  
>swaying back and forth in the breeze. 'Never better,' he said with a grin.<br>'I've got five years to make it up to her.'

'We may have outdone ourselves here, mate,' Sirius said.

James laughed. 'Arthur's face was a nice touch,' he said, looking at up the  
>face that loomed over top of the school.<p>

'That one was a little expensive,' Gideon and Fabian said as they arrived at  
>their side. 'But completely worth it. The look on Malfoy's face...I think it's<br>going to be etched there for years.'

Sirius laughed. 'I think we've made our point,' he said. Flitwick was now  
>assisting Filch in getting the Slytherins down as the student body applauded, although the teachers looked cross.<p>

'Think classes will be cancelled?' Sirius asked.

'One can hope,' James replied.

Frank Longbottom suddenly appeared at their side. 'So,' he said with his  
>eyebrows raised.<p>

'So?' James asked.

Frank smiled. 'Just deserves?' he asked.

James laughed. 'Frank, there is no evidence whatsoever that we would have had  
>anything to do with this...this masterpiece,' he said with a grin as they all<br>walked back towards the castle.


	23. Trains and Uncertainty

23

The final day at Hogwarts began like most others, with the minor exception being that everyone had their trunks packed and ready to go. They were all laid out in the entrance hall of the school for easy access once they finished their last breakfast together and headed off towards Hogsmeade Village to catch the train back to London.

The school was mostly abuzz with the events of the previous day. James and Sirius fielded questions from all manner of students, from first years to impressed seventh years'. Somehow, unassuming Remus and shy Peter were left out of the questioning, the general assumption being that they couldn't possibly have been involved.

James and Sirius kept up the constant strings of denial of their involvement all breakfast long to a few chuckles from Remus. James cast a few furtive glances up to the head table where the teachers were sitting. Dumbledore and McGonagall were deep in conversation, and Dumbledore was apparently relating to her a humorous anecdote, as she tilted her head back and laughed. James frowned; on most other people the expression would look natural, but on McGonagall's face, humor was a very bizarre expression indeed.

Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick were idly bantering as they picked through their breakfast, and then James noticed that Professor Mondego was not present at the table. His frown deepened as he remembered his statement to Dumbledore that he might set off on his own…with the school year winding to a close, James wondered if Mondego had already fled the castle.

James cast his gaze around again. The Slytherin table was muttering darkly and casting angry glares over at the Gryffindor table. James spotted Lucius Malfoy glaring at him. Lucius made a slow gesture of slicing his finger across his throat. James merely smiled and winked, and then caught Snape's eye. He was attacking the food on his plate with vigor, stabbing at the assorted potatoes and eggs with fervor usually reserved for someone banging nails into a wall with a hammer.

Finally, James glanced along his own table to where Lily was sitting. Alice and Frank were with her, talking animatedly about the events of the day before. Lily tried to smile in a placating way, but she cast a glare back over at James and her lip curled severely. James sighed; he was going to have to work hard to put this back together, but in the end, he thought it was somewhat worth it. No one had been hurt, it had been a relatively harmless prank. He was somewhat heartened by the fact that Frank and Alice—whom Lily held in high regard—found it to be the height of amusement.

'Well, Potter,' Dorcas Meadowes said from across the table. 'How do you think we're going to cap this year?' she asked as she leaned lightly on Cresswell's shoulder.

James shrugged. 'I think another Quidditch Cup would do the trick. We'll have everyone back,' he said with a smile.

Dorcas grinned. 'I was thinking the same thing,' she said. 'Although now that Malfoy is graduating, Slytherin might actually get a competent beater.'

Sirius snorted. 'Snivelly will still anchor that back end…and I do mean anchor,' he added for emphasis.

Remus sighed. 'Haven't you got enough payback?' he murmured silently.

'Please,' Sirius said. 'As far as I'm concerned, we're just getting started. He's got five years to plot his revenge, and we've got five years to be ready for him.'

Remus sighed. 'I've done a terrible job of keeping my promise to McGonagall,' he said. At curious looks from Sirius, James and Peter, he leaned forward. 'She wanted me to keep you out of trouble, remember?' he asked.

Sirius laughed. 'You always knew you had no chance,' he said.

'I beg to differ. I think we got fewer detentions this year,' James pointed out.

Remus rolled his eyes. 'Only because you didn't get caught,' he murmured to a chortle from Peter.

The student body fell into a hushed silence as Dumbledore stood at the head table. All eyes turned to him as he smiled serenely out at the faces staring back at him. 'Another year has come and gone,' he began. 'Another class of students will be leaving us this year,' he continued with a nod to the various seventh years around the hall. 'This has been a year that has seen many great triumphs. From the Quidditch Pitch, to some of the more creative pranksters in the school,' he said to a laugh from the gathered students.

'However, I must bend your ears for a few moments back onto some serious matters. Because as we are all aware, outside of the walls of this school the world is changing. The threat posed by the man calling himself Lord Voldemort is ever increasing. It has made its way from whispers in the streets and in the alleys into our very homes,' he continued as his eyes drifted over James and Lily. 'We must always be on our guard. We are all in danger. Only in unity can we hope to stand against the dark times that are coming our way.

'You may find yourself asking what, exactly, you can do? After all, you are merely students. This is something I have heard discussed in the hallways. I would like to set clear right now that you—'merely students'—hold the keys to the future in your hands. That gives you the greatest power you could possible imagine—more powerful than I, and more powerful than Lord Voldemort. It would also do well to note that age is its most foolish when it underestimates youth.

'We must stand together, and we must stand tall. Only then can the light building within us hope to cast out the shadows of what stands in our way.

'I bid you all a safe, happy summer. To our seventh years, good luck in all of your future endeavors, whatever they may be. I hope you will never forget what you learned within the walls of this school. To our other students, I look forward to seeing you next year. Have a safe trip home.'

With that, Dumbledore sat down and the doors to the hall opened. Hagrid stood there to direct the students out of the hall.

'Pretty heavy stuff,' Sirius remarked as they waited for the bottleneck effect towards the door to subside. 'Almost makes you wish you could stay at the school over the summer.'

James smiled. 'You're welcome to come to…well, wherever home is for me now,' James said with a smile as Sirius grinned back. 'Hey, did anyone see Professor Mondego anywhere?'

Remus shook his head. 'Not since our last class with him a couple of days ago,' he said. 'I wonder if he decided to take off?'

'We mustn't get our hopes up,' Sirius said airily to a giggle from Peter.

'Hopefully we're done with Occlumency,' Peter added.

James nodded. 'Agreed. That wasn't all that fun.'

The trip to Hogsmeade Station seemed to take no time at all. They boarded the Hogwarts Express, with some of the older students bidding farewell to a few of the patrons of the village who had gathered to bid them a safe journey.

James was hauling his bag through the back of the train when he paused a compartment empty save for one person—Professor Mondego.

'So. Running away, are we?' James said.

Mondego looked at him coldly. 'What I do is no concern of yours, Potter,' he said coldly.

James raised his eyebrows. 'You think you'll find somewhere safer than Hogwarts?'

Mondego's eyes narrowed. 'The track record of teachers in my position at Hogwarts is unimpressive, to say the least. So yes, I do. Now leave me be.'

James walked along, shaking his head. He was not fond of Professor Mondego, but if it was true that Voldemort was out to get him, he thought he was being an enormous fool by deciding to leave Hogwarts. James made his way down along the train when he bumped into Frank, who had picked out some refreshments from the cart. 'I'm just going to join Alice,' he said. He leaned in. 'Watch your step. I overheard Snape and Regulus Black talking about ways to get you back on this train ride.'

'Thanks Frank,' James said as he felt the train lurch and begin its journey back to London. He passed by another compartment where Lily Evans was sitting. He smiled at her and she glared back at him angrily. 'Alright, Evans?' he asked.

Lily scoffed. 'Don't even try it with me, Potter,' she snapped. 'You told me—you PROMISED me—'

'I promised that I wouldn't let him get to me AGAIN, and I didn't,' James said. 'You were the one who failed to say 'don't retaliate'.'

Lily stood up and for a moment, James thought she was going to draw her wand. 'Really? You're going to blame this on me?' she said darkly.

'It was a joke,' James said. 'Look, no one got hurt—not like when he attacked us.'

Lily grit her teeth. 'He made a hideous mistake and he was sorry.'

James raised his eyebrows. 'And that's good enough for you? Saying he's sorry?'

'I thought you understood!' Lily said in exasperation. 'He's my oldest friend, I can't just cast him aside when he makes one mistake.'

'Well, how many is it going to take?' James asked. 'I only ask because if it's your expectation that I ignore it every time he and his friends jump me or otherwise attack me, it would be nice to have a cap number to put on that.'

Lily sighed. 'Just go away, Potter,' she said in a tired tone. 'I don't have anything more to…' she trailed off as she looked out the window. 'What in the world is-?'

She didn't have time to finish. The train suddenly shuddered as a loud bang came from the front of the cars. The lights flickered and the train rocked back and forth in an unhealthy fashion, causing James to grip the door frame to steady himself.

'Potter…' Lily said, pointing out the window.

James managed to haul himself over to the side as another bang sounded and he heard yells from the other compartments. He looked out the window and up into the sky.

He could have laughed at the resemblance to the figurehead of Arthur Weasley that he and the others had let fly over the school the previous day, but the image made his stomach turn—a large skull hung in the sky, with a serpentine tongue stretching out of its mouth.

'Death Eaters,' James said at once as he grabbed his wand. Lily did the same. 'Come on—we need to get to Frank.'

'Why Frank?' Lily asked.

'Trust me!' James said as they ran down the hallway of the train car. Some students were peering out of their compartments, others were shutting themselves in. James nearly collided with Frank as he and Alice emerged from a compartment.

'What's going on?' Frank asked at once.

'Frank, that thing you did last year to alert Professor Bowen—the Patronus Charm—'

Frank nodded. He pointed his wand. 'Expecto Patronum!' he roared and a white fox danced out of the end of his wand. 'Go to Hogwarts. Inform Professor Dumbledore that the Hogwarts Express is under attack. Go! Now!'

The white fox bounded off down the hallway and leapt through the door at the end and was gone.

The unmistakable sound of an explosion rocked the train, dropping James, Lily, Frank and Alice to the floor. They were still hurtling along at near top speed, but they were clearly under attack.

'Stay here! Frank, look after Evans!' James said.

'Where the hell are you going?' Lily shouted.

James was already running. 'Sirius, Remus and Peter are down there!' he bellowed back. He dodged between students running in the opposite direction and stepped outside momentarily to gain entry to the next car. He could hear furious bangs and incantations being uttered from the next car. He took a deep breath and entered.

It was a war zone. Several hooded men were in the hallway, casting curses indiscriminately at anyone who moved. James' heart leapt to his chest as he saw the students standing up to them—Dorcas, Gideon and Fabian were standing in the way as younger students hurtled towards James to get out of the car.

'Stupefy!' James cried, sending a spell between the Prewetts that caught a Death Eater in the face.

'Nice one, James!' came Sirius' voice and James saw he was hiding round a corner, leaning out to cast a spell into the fray periodically.

'Where's Remus and Peter?' James asked.

Sirius ducked back as a curse nearly hit him. 'Peter got hit, went down. Remus got him back down the train—didn't you see him?'

James leapt behind the door that Sirius was hiding behind. 'They must have gone into another compartment,' he said. 'On three?'

Sirius nodded, they counted to three and both rounded the corner. 'STUPEFY!' they yelled, and the combined stunning spell struck a Death Eater in the face, one who had been about to cast a spell on Dorcas, who wasn't facing him as she was fiercely dueling another Death Eater.

'We need to get out of here,' Sirius said.

James shook his head. 'We just need to hang on—help is on the way,' he said, not adding 'I hope' to his statement.

'Potter,' came a voice in his hear and James whirled to see Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy grinned. 'I so hoped I'd find you.' He flicked his wand and it felt like James had been lashed in the face by a whip. He staggered back and hit the wall, dimly aware of Sirius roaring with anger and casting all caution to the wind as he charged Malfoy, tackling him by the midsection into the opposite side of the corridor.

James' vision swum as he flailed on his back like an overturned spider. He finally found his bearings and looked up in time to see the bigger Malfoy kick Sirius in the midsection, sending him stumbling back into a wall. Before Sirius could rebound, Malfoy snarled, pointed his wand at him and yelled 'CRUCIO!'

Sirius' screams rent the trolley car as it shook again with another explosion. James looked quickly, found his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. 'EXPELLIARMUS!' he cried, but Malfoy quickly deflected the spell so it crashed through the window at his side.

'You want a turn?' Malfoy sneered, pointing his wand at James.

Dorcas suddenly leapt between them. 'Potter, get Black and get out of here!' she yelled as her and Lucius' wands began slashing fiercely.

'Come on, Meadowes, where's the intensity you show on the pitch?' Malfoy taunted.

Dorcas' face was lined with concentration. 'You're going to have to do better than this, Malfoy—no poison in my cup today!'

James cast a look back at Gideon and Fabian. They were truly amazing to watch; three adult Death Eaters were trying to advance upon them, but they were moving like smoke—rolling over one another and swinging around each other, so that just when you thought you'd cast a spell at one, the other jerked him away.

'Go, James!' Gideon shouted.

'We've got this!' Fabian cried.

James bent down and heaved Sirius onto his shoulder, stumbling backwards and narrowly missing being hit by an errant spell sent by Malfoy in the process. He staggered into the next car where it was mercifully quiet. Frank, Alice, Lily and Remus were standing there.

'James!' Remus cried. 'Where are the others?'

'What's happening?' Lily asked urgently.

James set Sirius down on his feet, and Sirius leaned against the wall, his eyes squinted shut in pain. 'Death Eaters,' James panted. 'Malfoy's joined them.'

Remus' eyes went wide. 'We've got to help Dorcas, the Prewetts—'

Frank raised his wand, but before any of them could move, the world turned upside down. The constant barrage of explosions and attacks had finally dislodged the Hogwarts Express, sending it careening from its track through the air. James knew a sickening spinning sensation, and then the world was filled with the sound of bending metal.

'Protego!' came Lily's muffled voice and James suddenly felt as if he was bouncing off of bubbles. He knew Lily had encapsulated them in a shield charm—he hoped it was big enough to contain them all.

What felt like years but what was more like moments later, the spinning and crashing stopped. The sounds of crashes and bangs were still audible as duels went on, but James crawled to his hands and knees. He looked over at Lily who was unconscious, blood streaming from a gash in her forehead.

'No…' James whispered, crawling through the broken glass to her side. 'Lily? LILY!'

'That's a pulse,' Frank groaned as he had his hand on her throat. 'She needs a doctor…we need help.'

James was aware of someone scrambling down the corridor towards them. He squinted through the dirt and smoke to see Severus Snape skid to a stop next to them. It was only then that James realized he was standing on the window—the train was on its side.

'Is she alright?' Snape asked urgently, bending down next to Lily. His eyes went wide and he pointed his wand at her face and began muttering. As the others watched, Lily's wounds slowly closed. Snape repeated the incantation over and over again until the wound was little more than a faded scar.

'Nice work,' Remus said appreciatively.

Snape scowled at him. 'Save it,' he spat. 'We need to get her out of here.'

Frank nodded. 'We're going to have to run for it,' he said. 'The train's stopped…maybe we can find some cover nearby. Do you think they're after you and Lily again?' he asked with a serious look at James.

'No,' James said. 'Mondego. It has to be.'

Alice looked confused. 'Professor Mondego's on the train?'

James nodded. 'I'm sure of it. You lot go—I've got to get to him. If they get him, it's bad for us.'

'Not alone you don't,' Sirius grunted, pushing himself off the wall.

Remus was busy hauling Peter's unconscious form out of the wrecked compartment above them. 'James, it could be suicide—you have to come with us. Mondego can take care of himself.'

Just then, the door opened and Dorcas hurled herself through, quickly followed by the Prewetts who slammed the door shut again.

'That scum-sucking, weasel-minded little—' Gideon was snarling as they backed away from the door. 'Didn't take him long to join their ranks, did it?' he asked.

Fabian turned to Snape and pointed his wand at him. 'So who's side are you on?' he snarled.

James pushed his arm aside. 'He's on our side, he just saved Lily. We need to get off the train.'

'Where's Cresswell?' James asked Dorcas worriedly. She started at the wall, biting her lip.

'He's fine, we think,' Fabian said. 'Malfoy and his cronies jumped us—he took a pretty big hit trying to protect Dorcas.'

'We shoved him into a compartment and locked it…they shouldn't be able to get him,' Gideon added in what he apparently hoped was a reassuring tone.

The train car rattled as the sounds of Death Eaters trying to get in met their ears. 'There's a few charms on the train that should keep them out for a few minutes,' Dorcas said quickly. 'The safest place is probably in the train compartments, we can wait things out there.'

James waited until they were deep in discussion and took off at a sprint down the corridor. He made his way to the door at the end and looked back—they had not yet noticed that he had made off. He made his way out the door and into the next train car.

It was pitch black; James could barely see a thing. 'Lumos,' he muttered as he walked forward through the darkness. He knew Mondego's compartment had been at the back of the car. 'Professor Mondego?' he called. 'Prof—?'

Someone emerged from a compartment in front of him. James knew a lurch of fear as the whirring mechanical eye fixated on him. 'Well, well,' Gilles Rochefort said, his face splitting into a grin. 'Little James Potter. You always seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.'

James backed away, his wand held aloft in front of him. Rochefort's wand was held at his side, but James held little hope it would stay there. 'In a way, I ought to say thank you,' Rochefort said. 'I marveled at your little fireworks display at the school yesterday. The Dark Lord loved the idea…the mark hanging over this train was inspired by you, Potter. Do you feel proud?'

James grit his teeth. 'I know why you're here,' he said.

'Do you, now?' Rochefort said with a chuckle. 'Your parents have gone to ground, Potter. They know a lost cause when they see one. I could kill two birds with one stone, here…inexplicably, the Dark Lord would still like an audience with you. Tell me—is your friend the Mudblood nearby as well?'

James gambled; he knew his only chance was to catch Rochefort by surprise. He hurled himself to the side wall of the car and yelled 'EXPELLIARMUS!'

Rochefort was unbelievably fast, deflecting the spell. James relied on his Quidditch reflexes as he bounced himself off the walls of the car, never staying still for more than a second. He alternated between disarming spells and stunning spells, as Rochefort deflected them with growing impatience.

'Stay—still—so—I—can—' he snarled, when a spell soared from over James' shoulder and struck him in the face.

James whipped around to see Sirius standing in the doorway, the others behind him. 'GET HIM!' Sirius yelled, thundering into the car with Dorcas, Frank, Alice, the Prewetts and Remus behind him. James hit the ground as the sound of five different spells being cast filled his ears.

It was like someone had set off another case of fireworks in the car as all the spells ricocheted around. Rochefort was a blur, spinning and sending the spells back in all directions.

'PROTEGO!' Dorcas yelled, preventing the spells from bouncing back at them.

Rochefort was suddenly no longer along. Several Death Eaters appeared in the cramped car behind them and began casting spells back at the small group of Hogwarts fighters.

'Not good!' Sirius yelled, as he hauled James off the ground by his collar. 'Back up! We need to get out of here!'

Remus turned to open the train cart door and was met with a boot to the face as Lucius Malfoy dropped into the car, two more Death Eaters behind him. They were trapped.

'Get Mondego!' Rochefort yelled. 'Cease fire,' he snarled and the Death Eaters relented. James, Sirius and Dorcas faced Rochefort and his reinforcements, while Remus, Frank, Alice and the twins faced Malfoy and his. 'Well,' Rochefort said, rubbing his face. A nasty welt had sprouted from where Sirius' spell had hit him. 'I'll remember that one, Black,' he said, all pretense of his usual silky confidence gone, and replaced by a rather menacing expression. 'I will give you all one chance. Hand over Potter and the Evans girl, and we will let you live.'

Sirius snorted. 'Over my dead body,' he snapped.

'That can be arranged, you stupid little boy,' Rochefort said.

A large Death Eater appeared in the corridor, the unconscious form of Professor Mondego over his shoulder. 'Got him, Rochefort. Let's get out of here—they won't be long now.'

'GIVE THEM TO ME! NOW!' Rochefort yelled.

'Death first!' yelled Dorcas.

Rochefort pointed his wand at her. 'AVADA KEDAVARA!'

The spell soared directly between James and Sirius' heads. James turned, seeming to see everything in slow motion as the jet of green light flew towards Dorcas' surprised face. Just as the spell seemed about to hit, Dorcas was gone, and the spell carried on towards Lucius and the others, who threw themselves out of the way—narrowly avoiding being hit themselves.

'What—?' Rochefort asked.

'Dumbledore,' Sirius breathed.

Rochefort whipped around. At the far end of the corridor, Dumbledore stood with Dorcas at his side, he had a firm grip on her arm. 'Get behind me, Ms. Meadowes,' Dumbledore said calmly.

'Kill him!' Rochefort yelled.

The big Death Eater with Mondego over his shoulder leapt up into a compartment and away. The two other Death Eaters flanking Rochefort cast spells at Dumbledore who moved faster than James could ever have imagined. He spun his wand and a massive steel shield materialized in front of him, deflecting the spells. Dumbledore gave a flick of his wand and the shield catapulted down the hall, smashing into the two Death Eaters with sickening crunches. They collapsed, and the shield that had momentarily obstructed their view fell down upon them—to reveal Dumbledore sprinting forwards towards Rochefort.

'Avada Kedavara!' Rochefort yelled. Dumbledore flicked his wand quickly and a door flew up into the way of the spell. Dumbledore waved his wand simply and the splinters of the door turned and flew at Rochefort like daggers. Rochefort thrust his wand up and the wood turned into water as it flew past him.

Dumbledore was upon Rochefort now. Rochefort cried out in terror and was suddenly gone—apparated. Dumbledore did not hesitate, leaping into the air and flipping gracefully over James' head towards the other three Death Eaters. Lucius had already disappeared—the three Death Eaters lifted their wand and shouted spells to stun Dumbledore, but he quickly disappeared on the spot, causing the three spells to crash into each other's senders—the three Death Eaters collapsed to the ground as a result of hitting each other.

'Are you alright?' Dumbledore's voice came in James' ear. He turned to face the headmaster who looked as calm as though he had just woke from a light nap. James nodded numbly.

'They got Professor Mondego,' James panted.

Dumbledore nodded. 'The Death Eaters are gone; I am going to pursue them. More help should arrive shortly—just stay here.'

James nodded and Dumbledore spun on his heel and was gone.

'Blimey,' Sirius breathed. The others nodded in mute agreement—they all had just glimpsed why Dumbledore was revered as the most fearsome wizard who had ever lived. 'Glad he's on our side,' Sirius finished.

Platform 9 and ¾ was in chaos. The other Hogwarts teachers had arrived shortly after Dumbledore had left; the train had been placed back onto the tracks and escorted back to London, where the Platform was swarming with Aurors and other Ministry officials.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter were white in the face as James, singed, bruised, and bloodied, stepped into their arms.

'Are you alright?' Mrs. Potter asked as tears streamed down her face.

'I'm fine,' James said numbly.

'Your friends?' Mr. Potter asked.

James looked back. Remus and Sirius were supporting Peter off of the train; he was conscious now. He had apparently taken a solid whack on the head right as everything had started. James looked a little further down the platform and saw Snape standing with Lily and her family.

Lily was giving Snape a hug. James felt his stomach lurch at the sight. 'Great,' he murmured.

'Sorry?' Mr. Potter asked.

James shook his head. 'Nothing,' he said. 'Dad, what does this all mean?'

Mr. Potter sighed. 'That maybe the school isn't safe,' he said. 'The world has changed. Maybe nowhere is safe…but maybe we shouldn't let you go back.'

'I'm going whether you say yes or not,' James said animatedly. 'It's the only way to defeat Voldemort.'

Mr. Potter smiled faintly. 'We can talk about it over the summer.'

'There won't be a discussion,' James said with a look back over the yard. Sirius and Remus were animatedly describing what had happened on the train to Peter who nodded along excitedly. Frank and Alice stood, hand-in-hand, staring at the train. Snape and Lily were still wrapped in their embrace.

'I've got too much left to do…and I'm not sure how much time I have to do it,' James said at last. 'So I'm going back. Now let's go home.'


	24. Author's Note

Thank you for taking the time to read Year Two. Year Three will begin shortly—as I have said before, it is my full intention to chronicle all seven of James' years at Hogwarts. Sorry to pull the rug out from under you with the downer ending after the high of the prank, but there's going to be some very ugly years ahead for our heroes.

I hope you've enjoyed the story this far, and that you will continue to enjoy.

Cheers.

MS


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